Honey Bee Affair
by degunther
Summary: A honey bee holds the key to a cold case that could mean life or death for the Castles. This Affair occurs before the Sisters-in-Time and after the Finally Married Affairs


**Honey Bee Affair **

A honey bee holds the key to a cold case that could mean life or death for the Castles. This Affair occurs before the Sisters-in-Time and after the Finally Married Affairs

**Preamble**

"You were right Babe," Kate told the empty car seat beside her. "You told me to trust my instincts and here I am."

Word on the street was that the Crayfish Gang was responsible for the armored car robberies and the deaths of the driver and crewman. Beckett and her Team had been on this case for almost a week and they had no leads. The Gang Task Force thought the Crayfish Gang was going to use the cash to buy additional drugs in an attempt to take over additional territory. Beckett didn't think so. She thought this was going to be an old school take-over, and it looked like she was right. This morning she had staked out the biggest gun dealer in northern Manhattan. Her hunch had paid off. The dealer and the Crayfish Gang idiots had left the garage doors open and had opened the crates and examined the weapons. The images she had taken and passed back of heavy assault rifles, automatic weapons and RPGs had sent shock waves throughout her chain of command.

Detective Beckett had followed the Gang and their newly acquired weapons back to this place. Now she was sitting in her cruiser parked on Euclid Ave. and watching the warehouse on W 157th St in Washington Heights. Kate had called in the location and the situation. Captain Peterson himself had called Kate and told her to sit tight and update him with any changes. They had a good warrant. His Team had the mission. They had the building plans in hand and were formulating a strike package.

Kate looked at the empty seat again, and then touched the fitted bullet-proof vest Castle had bought for her and she was wearing for the first time. She twisted her wedding band and thought for the hundredth time today ' I wish you were here.'

Beckett snapped the glasses to her eyes as one of the garage doors rolled up. Through the glasses she could clearly see the unloaded crates and some men with weapon. She pressed a button and captured the image. Beckett snapped another picture when a panel truck made the turn and pulled into the warehouse. 'This is getting better,' she thought.

When the Blue and White pulled into view and stopped, Beckett screamed a silent No. She watched with horror as the Officers opened their doors and got out.

"Dispatch this is One-Mary Fourteen, have the dismounts from unit 61 return to their vehicle."

"Say again One-Mary Fourteen."

"Dispatch, Unit 61, have the officers return to their vehicle immediately. A SWAT operation at that location is expected imminently."

As the Officers continued walking slowly toward the open garage door, Beckett popped open the trunk got out of the car and went to the rear of her vehicle. If the Officers walked in there, they would need her help, not dead help. The Officers were still slowly walking. As Beckett reached into the trunk she remembered what Castle had told her this morning 'Never go to a gun fight underdressed or out gunned.' After donning her tactical vest over her fitted one she stuffed the right side pockets with spare ammo for her Glock. Next she chambered a round in the tactical shotgun and stuffed additional shells into the left side pockets. After fondly touching the vest with WRITER on the front Beckett closed the trunk and started walking toward the warehouse. Three steps later she was in an all-out sprint.

The garage door was still open when the Officers finally stopped just inside. As Beckett ran it seemed like the rest of the world was in slow motion. She saw the Officers heads jerk up. She watched them reach for their weapons she heard the unmistakable sound of shoots being fired. Speed is my weapon she told herself as she watched the Officers fall.

As Beckett charged up the slight incline toward the open doors the gunman came into view. He casually reached up and pressed the button starting the garage doors to close and looked at the charging Beckett in surprise. Shifting the shotgun to her left hand Beckett drew and fired twice with her right. Both shots hit and the gunman and his weapon went flying. Beckett ran harder, dove, rolled and just made it under the closing garage door. She snapped up to a kneeling position and fired the shotgun at a startled gunman .As he crumbled to the ground, Kate chambered a round, pivoted to her right and fired at a sound.

In the following silence Beckett picked up and holstered her Glock, handed the shotgun to the Officer who appeared to be conscious and started to drag both of them past the trucks, and behind the partially unloaded crates of weapons. The silence only lasted for a second. Then the place was full of voices, a lot of voices followed soon by the sound of gunfire. The Officers were heavy and the distance was at least thirty feet, but fear is an excellent motivator. After pulling the Officers to relative safety Kate retrieved her shotgun and started to return fire. She moved along the crates alternating between using the shotgun and her Glock trying to make them think that they were facing more in one Officer. She was startled when she heard the sound of another Glock to her left. One of the patrolmen had managed to crawl to the edge of the crate and fire at gunmen rushing them from the garage door side. Soon they were taking murderous fire.

"Hold it," a voice yelled. "Those are our guns in those crates and I don't want them damaged. Spread out. Will flank them and take them that way."

In the silence Kate assessed her position. They were right. It was clearly only a matter of time. To her rear, maybe twenty feet was a more defensible position, but how to get there?

In one of the boxes she spotted grenades, smoke grenades in fact. Stuffing two into pockets she picked up five more. "Dispatch, this is One-Mary-Fourteen, be advised that I have two Officers down. Also advise SWAT that the Officers are behind the second garage door on the southwest side of the building."

"Roger, One-Mary-Fourteen. Be advised SWAT on site in ten, one-zero minutes."

"Copy," Beckett replied, "Further advise SWAT, bad guys are using armor piercing rounds."

Kate just realized, the Officers were wearing their vests, but they still were bleeding.

"Copy AP rounds."

Kate crawled to the garage door side of the crates, took careful aim and shot out the tires of the two vehicles. Next she threw the smoke grenades, grabbed the now unconscious patrolmen and dragged them to a more defensible position. Her new position gave her a view of the W 157 St side of the building and a door, an exit door. Kate knew she could make it and escape, but if she did these two would surely die. Risking a glance, her morale was strengthened by the number of cop cars outside. Now if she could only stay hidden until SWAT came and breached this place. Kate found an ideal place. She was protected on two sides, had a view of the outside world and their old hiding spot.

The Gang assaulted her previous position all too soon. Kate shot two before they scattered. A movement outside grabbed her attention. It was SWAT moving into position. 'It's going to be close,' Kate thought. 'If I can hang on for another minute I'll be okay.' Kate risked another look outside and her heart leapt into her throat. Following behind the last SWAT member was a man with a familiar blue vest. The word WRITER was clearly visible. "Oh Babe," Kate whispered, and then she had more important things to worry about. The assault had begun.

When the man appeared beside her she turned and fired. When her gun clicked empty she turned and tried to cover both patrolmen, she felt four blows to her back and nothing more.

**Chapter 1 It's an Itchy Kind of Day**

That morning in the Loft

Kate woke to the sound of the alarm. After turning it off she looked to her left. Castle's side of the bed was empty, again. This time it looked like it hadn't been slept in at all. Shaking her head she showered and changed for work. The case she had been working on for the last week and more, without Castle, was going nowhere. Rumors, suspicions, sure, but the only evidence they had was the dead bodies and the missing cash.

Walking to the kitchen, Kate heard Castle mutter in his office. She looked at the counter top longingly. Normally Castle would be starting breakfast as Kate made the coffee but not today. Kate reached into the fridge extracted a yogurt and started eating. For the last week, ever since Castle had put on the big push to get the book written and submitted prior to his deadline there had been no hot breakfast, and very little Castle sightings. 'And whose responsible for that' asked Kate's fuzzy refrigerator reflection? 'I've been working a case' Kate replied. 'And he's been here working on his book,' replied the reflection. 'It's not like he's been hiding from you' pressed her reflection. 'Some kind of wife you are, you've been sooo busy you can't even fix your husband some breakfast or even a cup of coffee.' The spoonful of yogurt stopped halfway to her mouth. Her conscious had a point. She had been neglecting Castle. She could have done more for him. She SHOULD have done more for him. She was his wife now. She had taken a vow. He was her responsibility . "The book is due today," she verbalized. "I'll make it up to him starting now."

The yogurt forgotten Kate soon had the coffee started and bacon and egg sandwiches in the works. A plate holding the sandwich and a coffee cup in her hands Kate entered the office. Kate saw Castle's head snap around when she entered. It must have been the smell of the bacon, or the coffee she thought, but when she saw the look in his eyes, it could have been me! The first thing that she noticed was that Castle looked terrible, red, baggy eyes from lack of sleep, and at least five days growth of beard. "Thanks Kate! You joining me?"

"Yeah, let me get mine." When she returned the only thing left on Castles' plate was crumbs.

"That was great. I didn't realize how hungry I was."  
"Here have mine," 'I've had my yogurt' thought Kate.

"You sure, Thanks. How's your case?"

"We're stuck. We think we know who did it, and there's considerable disagreement why."

"Trust your instincts, you're normally right."

Kate smiled. Hearing Castle say that firmed up her plan for today. "One other thing," said Castle. "Wear your vest. You know the fitted one."

"Why?"  
"I feel itchy."

"No wonder you haven't showered in at least a day and shaved in a week."

"True, but not that kind of itchy."

Kate's eyes widened, Castle's instincts were pretty good too, and given what she had just planned to do today…."Okay"

On her way out Kate made it point to refill Castle's coffee cup. "Kate how's this for a piece of dialogue? Never go to a gun fight underdressed or out gunned."

"Since when did you start writing Westerns? …Bye Babe."

Gulping down half of the coffee Castle returned to work. The rewrite of the last chapter went smooth as silk. The manner in which he revealed the ending twist he had not used before and it was sneaky. Downright sneaky. He pressed the last enter key and paused. He was done. None all he had to do was get it there. It took a minute to upload the file on Black Swan's secure server and Castle's secure cloud as a backup. A minute later the printer was churning out pages, and two minutes after that he CDs were burnt. After putting one of the CDs and the printed manuscript into the FedEx box Castle leaned back in his chair looked at his coffee cup and froze.

'Kate. He had been neglecting Kate. That had to stop. She was important to him. Dinner at her friends place, Madison's place, Q3 seems appropriate. I'll give her enough time to get a new dress if she wants. I hope I'm not in too much trouble.'

'Trouble…Kate', Castle reached for his phone.

"Hi LT, how's the kids,….Just finished… Do you know where Kate is? Thanks."

'Surveillance, Euclid and W 157 St. I wonder if she wants company?'

Castle quickly changed. Dropped off the FedEx package with the doorman, hailed a cab and was on his way to be with his wife. When the Police barricade forced them to detour Castle got out, paid the cabbie and walked the rest of the way to Kate's car. Using a key that Kate would kill him for if she found out; he opened the trunk and put his tactical vest on over his fitted one. He noted the absence of the tactical shotgun and checked the ammo vault. Almost empty, good.

Hurrying, but not appearing to, Castle headed toward the Police lines and the building beyond, where, if the news he heard on the cabbies radio was correct his wife and two other Officers were in the deep serious. Officer Hastings let Castle through the lines with a nod "The gunfire tells us she's still alive Castle." He nodded and headed toward the Command Vehicles.

Captain Peterson looked up when a civilian entered his briefing area. This civilian was not in his chain of command. He wasn't a politician, a member of the clergy, or a doctor. He was displaying neither a badge nor picture Identification. The tactical vest with the word WRITER was all of the identification required. Neither Officers of the 12th nor Officers of his command would deny his right to be here. They locked eyes and Captain Peterson thought he looked like crap. "I've been up for at least the last forty-eight finishing my book or else I would be in there with her," was Castle's only greeting.

"Right then, from the top, Tom?" As was his method the Captain listened with a critical ear as his subordinates briefed him on their role in the plan. After the first run-through, Castle understood the plan. It was to be a modified Russian breach with smoke and flash bangs. He heard the warning about armor piercing rounds and the possibility of heavy weapons. The Team was counting on the combination of surprise, speed, and training to carry the day. After the third repetition the Captain was satisfied. He looked at each member of the Team. "Okay, hustle it up we breach in five minutes forty-five seconds from….Now." As his Team hurried to their positions he was concerned. The one face he did not see was Castle's.

On the building plans Castle noticed an unremarkable door on the west wall. It was three feet in from the south wall. If it was unlocked, it would provide clear access. If locked. Well his lock picks should take care of that. Even though the brief had indicated that Kate was behind the second garage door, Castle did not believe it. Not defensible. By now she had retreated to where her back was against the wall. This wall. This was his way in.

The last member of the south wall breach team thought he was being followed but when he turned around and looked nothing. Castle made it to the door without being discovered. When he tried the handle, it was unlocked. He resisted the temptation to rush in.

Castle waited until he heard both breaches and the flash bangs go off before opening the door and rushing in. No more than fifteen feet ahead of him stood a man. He was dazed and confused, but he held a gun and was right next to Kate. Castle charged and tackled him. After banging his opponents head on the floor Castle rolled on top and started hitting him. He only stopped when handcuffs magically appeared in his field of view. Castle handcuffed him, checked his breathing passages and scrambled over to his wife.

When Castle handcuffed the gang member the Officer who dropped him the cuffs made the first radio call everyone wanted to hear. "Officers recovered – intact."

A minute later the "All Secure" report was broadcast.

**Chapter 2 It must be nice to be married to a psychic millionaire**

After securing the gunman Castle hurried over to Kate. He noticed the way she had thrown herself over the two officers and the four bullet holes in her back. Carefully and gingerly he pulled his wife off of the Officers and onto his lap. He reached around and undid her tactical vest and slowly and carefully took it off of her. He bunched it up and used as a pillow for her head as he laid her down on the floor. Using a knife he quickly shredded Kate's sweater. He heard Kate gasp when he undid the third and fourth straps of her vest. After undoing the last two he was able to take the front piece off. Slowly he lifted Kate's torso to the near vertical position and gently loosened the back piece. After it fell he moved out of the way. As he reached around her back he felt moisture. Fearing the worst he looked. It was just sweat; she was going to be okay. "Thank God," Castle mumbled. Castle rearranged Kate's vest to provide a bit of a pillow and protection from the hard floor. He checked her pulse, thin and fast. Checking her forehead, she felt cold and clammy. He quickly stripped off his tactical vest and the sweatshirt he was wearing and covered her with them. Castle looked up at their SWAT 'shadow'.

"The EMT's should be here any minute now."

"Take those two first," Castle said. "The vests stopped all of the bullets. I think she is going into shock. So if we can keep her warm and get her to breathe deeply until they can take her," as he started to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, "she should be ok."

The rattle of the gurney's attracted their attention. As the EMT's worked on Officer's Mendoza, and O'Dell, Captains Gates and Peterson approached. "Mr. Castle," asked Captain Peterson. "How in the Hell did you get here so fast?"

"I came in through that door. It was unlocked." said Castle with a nod toward the west wall. "After the flash bangs of course."

"Kate?" asked Gates.

"None of the bullets pierced the skin Sir. We were lucky. I think she is going into shock," breathe Kate, thought Castle. Deep breaths.

"Here," said one of the EMT's. He handed Castle a couple of heat packs and a blanket.

Kate groaned after Castle had placed both of the heat packs under her back and wrapped her up in the blanket. Castle checked Kate's forehead it was less clammy. Her pulse had settled down and was a lot stronger. She was breathing on her own, big deep breaths. 'You're going to make it love,' he told himself.

Satisfied that Kate would be okay, the Captain's went to check on the weapons cache.

Kate returned to conscious slowly. The first sense to return was hearing. She heard the chatter of the EMTs and the questions of the Captains. The warmth seemed to jump start her recovery. The next sense to return was smell. She smelled the gun smoke, the smoke from the grenades, the oil from the well maintained guns, and the peculiar smell of the flash bangs. The smell coming from the hand that checked her pulse and gently touched her forehead acted like smelling salts. It was the scent of her man, her Castle. Kate gently squeezed Rick's hand.

"Kate?"

Kate opened her eyes, looked at Castle, "Am I in heaven?"

"You're in New York, holding hands with your very worried husband." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I always wanted to say that line. The other guys?"

"Going to make it," said Castle.

"Good, ….Thank you… for this morning."

"Beckett," said Esposito. "You know better then come in a place like this alone."

"Had to Javier. They're dead otherwise. Anyone know why they were following the panel truck?"

"Their log book says they were going to issue a warning for a broken tail light," said Ryan.

"That was a lot of fuss over a broken tail light," said Castle.

Kate started to laugh but grunted in pain instead. Her gripped almost broke Castle's hand, her face was severely contorted, but her eyes were laughing.

Not talking his eyes off of Kate Castle asked, "What was this case about anyway?"

"These guys knocked off a couple of armored cars. On the second one they killed the driver and the crewman," began Esposito.

"Are they responsible for any of the bank jobs?"

"Don't think so. Killing the driver and the crewmen, that's what brought us in," added Ryan. "The Gang guru's thought they were going to use the cash for drugs. Only Beckett thought differently."

"That's why we weren't here," groused Esposito. "We went with the Gang task force and staked out a couple of major drug wholesalers. "

"While Kate went solo to the 'Gun Mart',' "said Ryan.

"Castle said to follow my instincts so I did," said Kate.

"I told you to use your instincts, not get shot up."

"Only my vests, got shot up, I'm going to be fine," Kate rejoined with a hint of a laugh. "You're just afraid I'll break your record for cracked and bruised ribs."

"There are some records that don't need to be broken," said Castle with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"There are some records I want to try to break," said Kate in a low sexy tone for Castle's ears only.

Castle leaned forward and kissed Kate's check. Castle looked up when he heard the sound of the EMT's gurney. When the EMT's transferred Kate to the gurney, Ryan picked up both Kate's tactical vest and her fitted vest. He laughed at the ruckus when the rookie EMT tried to prevent Castle from riding with Kate. In the end, the driver told Mac, the junior partner, to get in and attend to his patient. He deliberately turned his back as Castle jumped aboard and Javier slammed the door closed.

As the Boys walked back toward Captain Gates and Captain Peterson, Ryan handed the fitted vest to Esposito and put his finger through one of the holes in her tactical vest. Esposito looked at the four bullet impacts on the back piece and the one horizontal smear on the front. "She was lucky," he said. "When did she get this this?"

"Right after Baltimore, I think," replied Ryan. "Castle insisted." They exchanged glances. Without it they would be mourning the death of a friend.

When the Boys approached the Captains, Captain Peterson looked up and stared. "Personal body armor?"

"Kate's," confirmed Ryan. "Castle made her wear it today. If not?" Ryan pocked one of his fingers through one of the holes in Kate's vest.

"It must be nice to be married to a psychic millionaire," he remarked.

Captain Gates reached out and touched Kate's tactical vest and looked at her fitted vest. "A younger Gates would be yelling about the privileges of the rich. Captain Gates is a little older and very thankful that Detective Beckett is loved by a psychic millionaire, because she knows that without this," she said patting the armor, "she would be going to three funerals."

"Amen"

"What was the problem at the ambulance," asked Gates?

Esposito laughed, "The rookie EMT tried to prevent Castle from riding with Kate to the hospital."

"Kate threatening to shoot both of them was a little over the top," added Ryan. "She made the point; one separate's the Castle's at one's own risk."

Captain Peterson looked over both his shoulders at his Team and smiled. "I command the best SWAT outfit in the city and maybe the country. I will not lead them in an attempt to complete an impossible mission" After the laugher did down, "Captain we need to find out how the dealer was able to get those weapons. They are top of the line. If there is anything I can do to help?"

"One moment Sir. Detectives," said Gates turning toward Ryan and Esposito, "We have a good warrant for the arms dealer and his warehouse. Pick him up." Gates watched her Detectives hesitate. "Look if they admit her we can visit her after we're done. If they release her we know where to find her."

"Captain Peterson," asked Esposito "If you guys aren't too busy?"

"Detective, I thought you would never ask." And for the second time that day the best SWAT unit in the city executed a faultless plan.

The last thing Castle saw when the doctors pushed Kate through the double doors was the first thing he saw when he woke up, her smile.

"He's over there," Kate told the wheelchair driver. "He's wearing the blue thing with WRITER on it."

"Hey sailor give a lady a lift," Kate teased. "Castle," Kate said again louder. No response. Kate got out of the chair, lifted Castle's chin and kissed him. She enjoyed watching his eyes blink awake. As his eyes slowly focused she saw the light slowly return and the smile that engulfed his face.

"Kate?"

"You were expecting another woman to kiss you?"

"You okay?"

"No, but good enough to go home, and I'll be back to normal in a couple of days. Ready?"

"Kate when I heard Captain Peterson's Team brief the situation, I thought I was going to lose you," Castle said as he gently hugged Kate after they entered the Loft.

"It was too close," Kate admitted. "I saw you, you know? I watched you follow that last SWAT guy. Then I lost you and I got busy."

"Hungry? How about I fix us some lunch before you rest-up and I crash."

"That would be nice." Kate never thought chicken noddle soup and tuna fish sandwiches could taste so delicious.

After lunch Kate decided she would rest in her chair in the living room. Castle fussed her into her chair, made sure she had her phone, e-reader, the remote to the TV and the stereo, and several bottles of water. Seeing that Kate was comfortable Castle announced "I'm going to take a shower and crash."

For some reason reading seemed like such a chore. Kate switched on the TV and found a station doing a Bugs Bunny / Roadrunner mini-marathon. 'Laughter is what I need,' she decided.

"Babe?" Kate asked when Castle came walking in carrying a quilt and a pillow.

"I thought I would crash with you," he said as he lay down on the couch and was soon fast asleep. During a commercial Kate looked over at Castle reached out and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you Rick Castle," she whispered. "We got some things to work out. And we WILL work them out. The consequences …."

Kate's phone startled her awake. It was the precinct. "Detective Beckett,… Hi guys… Yeah I'm okay. I'll be back to work tomorrow… Just sore ribs and back… how about we give you guys a rain check. Castle is doing his sleeping Beauty imitation and I don't want to wake him… Okay Bye Guys." Kate made two more calls. They had recovered her cruiser and returned it to the precinct, and the shotgun was back in the armory.

Kate checked the time and ordered dine-in. After dinner they shared a shower, and sore back and all they shared their bed.

**Chapter 3 Wonder Woman and the Blue Hornet**

Kate quickly turned off the alarm and scurried into the shower. This morning she would most definitely let Castle sleep in. Last night had been special. They both needed it. Castle had been so careful, so loving, so gentle, and oh so perfect. 'Next time I'll treat you like a china doll,' thought Kate. On her way out of the bedroom Kate frowned when she picked up Castle's WRITER's vest. Now how did you get this? She looked back at her sleeping husband. We will talk about this later Mister she promised.

Beckett's first order of business at the precinct was taking squaring away her ride. She easily found her cruiser in the garage. Opening the trunk she placed Castle's vest in, extracted hers and the nearly empty ammo caddy.

The expression on the armorer's face was priceless when he poked his finger through one of the holes and looked at Kate. "Tough skin," Beckett responded as she signed the forms for a replacement vest, her shotgun and the ammo load out. As Beckett tried to lift the ammo caddy, her back complained. "We'll take that," said another Officer who had just checked out a shotgun.

"Thanks Officer…Eastman," said Becket as she read the nametag, "And Laird," said his partner who had just picked up their ammo load out like it was pillow. "Where's your ride?"

"This way. You guys new? I mean this is the first time that I've seen you."

"Laird over there is a newbie. This is my second tour at the 12th. Your right I started about two weeks ago."

"And they paired you up?"

"Yeah it just worked that way," said Eastman.

"Here it as," said Beckett as she pressed the button to release the trunk. "Thanks guys," Beckett said after Eastman had locked the ammo caddy in place. Beckett racked the shotgun, and lovingly moved Castle's vest over the equipment bag and placed hers on top. Satisfied, she closed the trunk and headed toward the elevator which would take her to the Bull Pen.

As Beckett approached her desk she frowned. Where was everybody? Conference room? Empty. Captain's Office? Empty, as it should be she was downtown at the morning Commanders Meeting. Beckett stowed her things and went to the break room to make a cup of coffee. As she was walking back to her desk the door to the Video Review Room opened and a horde emerged. "You know," said Beckett as Esposito and Ryan caught up to her, "Using Department assets to watch porn is against Department Regulations.

"It wasn't porn," said Esposito.

"More like an action flick," added Ryan.

"I see you started taking down the murder board. Did someone confess?"

"No," replied Esposito with a bit of a scowl. "After the raid yesterday the gang members fingered one of the dead guys."

"They all fingered the same dead guy," said Ryan. "With no other evidence and the prospect of getting any nil…"

"We have no choice," finished Esposito. "How you felling?"

"Sore back, I won't be running anybody down, and if it comes to a fistfight I am most definitely a liability. I can help get the paperwork done, and I need to speak to the Captain."

"Another thing, we hit the gun dealer that the gang bought their weapons from," said Ryan.

"It was like a weapon's bazaar," said Esposito. "When we compiled the inventories and filed them with the FBI they went ballistic. They brought in ATF and things are out of our hands. The Captain has assigned Hawkins to be the liaison."

"Better him than me. If we hit the ground running I think we can knock off all the paperwork noonish. I do want to stretch out in the gym."

When Captain Gates got off of the elevator she was surprised to see Detective Beckett cleaning off the murder board. She had expected Kate to take at least one day off. Detective Beckett and her actions had been topic number one at the Commander's Meeting. I thought the Chief of Detectives handled Inspector Thomas exceedingly well. She barely had time to take a seat behind her desk when there was a knock at her door.

"Sir you got a minute," asked Detective Beckett.

"Now is probably the best time. There are some things we need to talk about. You first."

"My status, the shooting?"

"Considering that no one has asked for your Badge and Weapon you can assume that you have been cleared."  
"How? There were no witnesses, except the gang members, and no one has talked to me."

"Most of what occurred was caught on surveillance cameras. After about thirty seconds of video the Commanders Incident Response Team declared it a good shoot."

"Cameras?"

"Yeah, the field of view covered about ten feet of the interior. They had one camera per door."

"Okay," Beckett said shakily, "That's good to know."

"You were topic one at the meeting this morning," continued Captain Gates. "Your hunch about the guns was impressive."

"Castle told me to trust my instincts' Sir."

"The number and type of weapons confiscated from the Gang and the Gun's Dealer scared a lot of people. So much so we have an ATF task force looking into the situation. We can handle the local gun runners. If the task force can find out how they are getting military grade weapons that would be a big plus."

"And speaking of your husband, you can probably guess your personal body armor caused quite a stir."

"I,,,"

"Inspector Grier is such a rules lawyer. He demanded I write you up for wearing 'unauthorized field equipment in a tactical situation.' Unfortunately he's correct. The Chief of Detectives did order me to write up a reprimand."

"Captain I'm…" Beckett stopped when the Captain held up her hand and started smiling.

"Not to worry. He also ordered me to put the reprimand in my desk drawer for a year and add it to you jacket if your subsequent behavior warrants it. Next he ordered me to tell you that the next time 'your psychic millionaire husband' asks you to wear it you will comply as if the order came directly from him."

"'Psychic millionaire husband?'"

"That's what Captain Peterson called Castle yesterday when we found out that Castle had insisted that you wear the armor."

"There goes his ego."

"I assume you can deflate it?"

"Absolutely," Beckett said with a smile.

"Let's go watch the video," Captain Gates said as she got up from her desk. 'I can tell her about the other order I received after we both watch the video,' thought Captain Gates. When Kate hadn't moved," There's something else on your mind Detective?"

"May I Sir," asked Beckett as she pointed toward the door?

"Yes" as Kate was closing the door Captain Gates came around to the front of her desk and leaned back against it. "What's on your mind?"

"A personal question Sir, if I may? How do you do it? How do you balance your job and your home life?"

The Captain was shocked to hear this question from Beckett. But then again she was newly married so something happened, and besides it was a superior's job to mentor her folks. "The best I can Detective. The best I can. I try to find a balance. Sometimes I lean a little bit too far to the job sometimes to the family, but it all comes back to trying to find a balance. What happened?"

"I guess I'm spoiled Sir. I'm used to having my husband with me. This last case was different. Normally when Castle isn't with me on a case it is because he is elsewhere. This time it was different he was home writing. I spent long hours on the case. I went home went to bed, got up and came back to work. I spent no time with him! I mean when we were dating he would warn me off when he was in crash mode. Things are different now, we're married. I should have been there to help him!"

"Detective," said Captain Gates in a clear, low, soft tone. "During this case did you send Detective Ryan home?"

"Several times. His wife was feeling under the weather and their baby was cutting a tooth."

"Esposito?"

"He had a date or two with Doctor Parrish."

"Why didn't you send yourself home?...You know what to do. You need to apply the same rule to yourself as you apply to your team." Gates watched the look of despair fade from her Detective's face. It was replaced by a look of hope, of understanding. 'Good' she thought.

"This was a good practice," Gates announced. When Beckett looked at her with a questioning look she continued. "Practice for when you have this conversation with the person that really matters, Castle. Now let's go watch the video."

"Simon," asked Captain Gates "Could you run the warehouse video please?"

"Sure Sir, I would be happy to rerun the Wonder Woman an H video," his speech slowing down as he saw Beckett.

"'Blue Hornet.' That's new," mumbled Gates.

The video was as Kate remembered it. She flinched when she saw Officers Mendoza and O'Dell shot again. She saw herself roll under the garage door and fire. It was strange watching herself haul the two Officers behind the crates. She did not remember quite that much gunfire. For Kate the end of the video was the most revealing. On the second move she had left both Officers Mendoza and O'Dell in clear view of the camera. She saw herself throw her body over the Officers in an attempt to protect them when her gun ran out of bullets. She re-felt and groaned with the impact of the bullets as she watched the bullets impact her back. Then the cameras when out. When they returned there was a man with a gun standing over her he was winching and squinting his eyes. She watched fascinated as a blue streak took him down and off-camera. A short while later a man with a blue vest with the word WRITER crawled to her. He rolled Kate off of the Officers and into his arms.

"Enough," said the Captain.

"I never knew Castle did that," said Beckett. "He never told me."

"Detective Beckett the other order I received today was to start writing a commendation suitable for the award of a Medal of Valor."

The door opened and Ryan stuck his head in. "Beckett if you're up for it we caught a case."

"Thank you Sir," Beckett said as she left to join her Team.

**Chapter 4 A Tale of Three Stories **

Kate waited as the taxi cab door opened and Castle hustled to her side. It was a glorious early September afternoon in Central park. The skies were perfectly clear. The leaves were just beginning to change, and the temperature just right. It was a great day to enjoy a walk, a picnic lunch, and for being with the one you love. It was not a great day to investigate a murder.

"What do we have," asked Kate as they entered the crime scene?

"We have an unidentified male," said Officer Laird. "He appears to have been hit over the head with a rock. It was called in by those two," he said pointing to a couple seating on a bench beside the path. "They said they walked up here to try to find a quiet spot. My partner is taking their statement now."

"When I get him back to the lab I can definitely tell you if it was the rock or not," said Lanie. "Right now that is the best guess. We also got a good bloody fingerprint. So if the murderer is in the system we will identify him."

"His street name is Dan-Tom," began Castle in a tone of absolute pain. "That's short for Daniel Edison Thomas. He was a West Point graduate. He was a Major in the US Army, Corps of Engineers. On his third deployment a RPG round landed three feet away from him as he was finishing building a clinic in one of the small villages. He lost the sight in one of his eyes. The use of his left arm is severely limited. He also has a plate in his head. He has a sister in Plattsburg. She wants nothing to do with him."

"They medically discharged him when he returned to the States. Then they dropped him like a sack of crap. They had no right" said Castle in a voice full of disgust.

"Easy bro," said Esposito.

"He was a Veteran," Castle almost shouted as he turned to face Esposito. "Sorry," Castle said as he realized he had yelled at the one person in the group who completely understood.

"Sa nada," Esposito replied with a shrug. "I respect how you feel."

"He was a Knicks fan. Sometimes when he was lucid I would buy him a SRO ticket and slip him some money for food. You know by the middle of the fourth quarter he always worked his way down to a seat near me. Whoever did this doesn't deserve to live."

Kate wasn't sure who Castle was talking about. Maybe the government for letting something like this happen to someone who had made it his life's work to protect the nation, or the murderer. Either way she was going to keep Castle under lock and key.

"Have you talked to the neighbors?"

"One other unit is out canvassing. So far nothing," said Officer Laird.

"Bo?"

"Who?"

"The old man who lives about twenty-five yards that way," said Castle pointing to the south. "He dances. He thinks he's Bo Jangles."

"No one was there."

"Emma? To the North maybe fifty yards."

"She's home but says she doesn't talk to cops."

Castle nodded and looked at Kate. She watched him eye her gun belt and her badge. Understanding his intent she took off her gun belt and slipped off her badge. After handing them to Ryan she linked arms with Castle and she let him lead her to the witness.

"What just happened," asked Officer Laird as he watched Beckett and Castle follow a small trail northward?

"Mr. and Mrs. Castle are going to call on a friend and console her over the death of her neighbor," said Lanie.

"Emma," said Castle as he took sixty dollars out of his wallet and placed it under her water bottle. "This money is only for food. Okay?"

"Who's with you?"

"This is my wife Kate."

"Hi," said Kate.

"You're a cop aren't you?"

"Yes"

"Is she the lying bitch you told me about…. She's good looking enough. .. I bet she's good in bed. ..That's why you married her isn't it, because she's good in bed."

"I married her because I truly love her and can't imagine my life without her…. Yes she's good in bed. The best in fact. But she's even better out of it."

"Please Emma," said Castle in a voice that nearly broke Kate's heart. "How did my friend die?"

After a long moment, "Stevie, Stevie Wild hit him over the head with a rock a couple of times."  
"Why?" pleaded Castle.

"For his squat of course. It's the best. Dan-Tom knew how to build. He helped Bo and me with ours. We no longer get wet or flooded out when it rains. In the winter one little candle keeps this place warm. In summer I move a rock or two and get a marvelous cooling breeze. He was a genius. Stevie Wild wanted his squat. Dan-Tom said no and Stevie killed him."

"Where is Stevie's squat," asked Kate?

"In the rocks about a hundred yards to the west."

"Emma, assuming I can get Dan-Toms things," said Castle.

"And after we get them cleaned," added Kate.  
"If I gave them to you, could you see to it that Bo got some of them? You two were the only two friends I know he had."

"I… of course."

"Promise me that you will only use this money for food," Castle said in a very stern voice. "I need your word on that."

After a longer silence, "You have my word Castle. That money is only for food. …Kate you take care of your husband. True men like him are rare."

"I will," said Kate. "On that Emma you have MY word."

Kate accepted Castle's hand up, linked her arm in his and walked back toward the crime scene. As they neared the crime scene tape Kate let go of Castle and became Detective Beckett once again. "His name is Stevie Wild," said Kate as she accepted her weapons belt and badge back." He lives in the rocks to the west of here."

"I know him," said of the Officers that had been out on the canvass. "He earned the street name Wild in a convincing fashion."

"Okay, let's go overkill here. Call in a couple of additional units. Have them bring Tasers. If he's prone to violence let's try talking first and when that doesn't work lets hit him with the Tasers. We don't need to have anybody hurt. Okay?...Good. Castle you stay here."

"Wait, what? No! Kate you can't do that."

"You have already threatened to kill the guy. I am not giving you the chance. Got it?"

"Kate wait. Who's got your back?"

"We do," said Officer Eastman. "My partner and I will protect the Detective."

Castle looked in disbelief at Kate and the two Officers.

"Lanie do you have any sedatives in your bag?"

"No Detective, I do have some aspirin if your back is bothering you."

"No, I'm fine. I was hoping you would have something to put this big lug out if he decides to follow us."

"Leave him here with me. I'll protect him."

"Lanie. Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Hers if you have to ask."

"Kate, be safe," Castle yelled as they walked off.

Kate nodded. For the second day in a row she was going into a situation without her partner. This time the odds were better. She was arriving with the strike team.

A couple of minutes had passed and Castle heard music. It was the sound of the bells made by a bicycle based ice cream vendor.

"Dr. Parrish, may I tempt you with some ice cream?"

"Go ahead Doctor, I got this. It will only take me a couple of minutes to finish," said her assistant.

"Why Mr. Castle that would be lovely," said Lanie as she took Rick's offered arm and they hurried down to the path.

When Kate got back, the crime scene has been packed up and Castle and Lanie were sitting on a bench down by the path eating ice cream. At first she was pissed. Ice cream had become there special 'after' snack. Then she kicked herself. Ice cream was Castle's comfort food of choice, and since he had lost a friend… and sharing with Lanie was obvious.

"Hey Babe. We got him. We had to Taser him, but right now he's on his way back to the house. Ready."

"Here," said Castle offering Kate the last bite of ice cream. 'He sure knows how to stop an argument before it starts,' thought Kate.

"Emma's Story?" asked Kate, once they had settled into traffic.

Castle started in a soft voice that steadily grew to its normal strength. "She's twenty-three."

'She's younger than I am. How did she get to look so..used,' thought Kate?

"She came her to dance. She's European, born out of wedlock, American GI father and local mother. She was fifteen almost sixteen when her Mother died. She gathered her paperwork and worked her way across the Atlantic on a freighter. It took her almost three months to get to the Port of New York. She hit Immigration with her Dependent GAO card, Birth Certification, GED equivalent, her Mother's Death Certificate, two thousand dollars and some change in cash, a Wells Fargo Bank Account, and the address of a relative. Kate you will love this it was Yankee Stadium."

"Who did she claim as her relative, Yogi Berra," laughed Kate?

"She worked as a waitress while she auditioned. She was good, real good. It only took a month before she had a job, two in fact," said Castle as his voice started to fade.

"What happened?"

"Dinner at an outdoor bistro, a crack head with a gun, shots fired. She was hit. No insurance, no real friends, and no champion. It was tough. She had nerve damage, she couldn't dance. She ran out of money, no other real skills. She was forced to what a lot of young woman have to do."

"Prostitution," said Kate softly.

"Yeah, drugs came later."

"How did you meet her?"

"Community Service," he replied. "You meet some of the most interesting people while performing Community Service."

"Castle don't you know any happy stories" asked Kate as they stopped at another light?

"This one is a work in progress, but I think it has potential. It starts with a spoiled brat. The brat was good looking and had some talent. He managed to parlay his talent into a reasonable amount of money. With his looks and money he managed to marry twice. Both of them ended badly for him. He was resigned to living alone, living a life as a millionaire playboy. Then the impossible happened."

"What" asked Kate?

"He met a young woman. She was beautiful, smart, savvy and had a steady job. Did I mention she was beautiful? She intrigued him. He did his best to stay near her and eventually she stole his heart."

"But" asked Kate? "Your stories always have a but."

"She didn't know he existed. Oh, she knew him. She considered him an annoyance, sometimes a useful tool, but never as a man worth spending her life with."

"Sad, what happened next."

"He never gave up. Eventually he wore her down. He proposed, she accepted and they got married."

"Are they happily married?"

"Yes, well at least he his."

"What about his wife?"

"He thinks so but he doesn't know. He wants to know but he's too scared to ask. What if she says no?"

"Oh"

"They're married. So there are always things. They have some issues to resolve. Not major things mind you, but left unaddressed…"

"That's a much better story. I'm absolutely sure the wife is happily married and loves her husband very very much. I'm sure they will resolve their issues. "

At the next light Kate could not keep the smile off her face. The fact that Castle had chosen their story as his happy story meant the world to her. She also heard his uncertainty and need to be reminded that she loves him. I can correct that. "Mr. Castle have I told you much I love you today?"

"Yes, "Castle replied, "When you benched me this afternoon."

Kate's smile was her biggest and brightest yet.

**Chapter 5 A Pair in the Park**

Kate watched Castle's eyes as the prisoner was brought upstairs and placed in the box. "Castle?"

"I'll watch Kate. If I go in there with you I could do something I could regret."

"Good." Kate took another sip of her coffee. "I'm going to let him stew for a few."

Captain Gates raised an eyebrow when Castle walked into the observation room. "I knew the victim Sir. If I go in there with Kate I could hurt her efforts."

Gates nodded and went back to observing the prisoner. They watched Kate walk in and sit down. She opened her portfolio and pretended to read. They watched Stevie Wild get more and more agitated. "Aren't you going to ask me anything," he demanded.

"Why," asked Kate. "Unless you want to confess I don't need anything from you. We know you killed him for his squat. I'm sure if you had asked he would have helped you improve yours, but you didn't. I don't need to talk to you. I mean the blood on your clothes screams 'I did it.' And your hands, your bloody fingerprints on the rock scream I'm a killer. I have everything I need and I don't need to talk to you. When the tests come back positive, which they will, we will have you wrapped up in a pretty box with a bright red bow and hand you to the DA. When we show the pictures to jury," Kate said as she pushed the photographs of the crime scene across the table. "I'm sure they are going to throw the book at you. I really don't want to hear any self-defense BS either. I'm sure the jury will be real sympathetic when we tell them that you beat a one armed, one-eyed man to death with a rock. … So I really need nothing from you. I don't care. I can make my case and you're going to pay the consequences. Sure you can help yourself by confessing but I'm not in a mood to help. You killed my husband's friend. He's hurting and I need to help him deal with that. As I said you can help yourself by confessing. It's entirely your choice."

The people in the observation room watched a range of emotions play over Stevie's face, finally acceptance. "What kind of deal can I get?"

"That's up to the DA, but if you cooperate I will make sure he knows."  
"Okay, Okay I did it. What do you need me to do?"

Kate handed Stevie a pad of paper and a pen. "Just write down what you did and why."

"Detectives," said Captain Gates "Finish up for Beckett and send her in to see me."

"Yes Sir," they chorused.

"Sir you wanted to see me," said Beckett after she has entered the observation room.

Captain Gates turned her head and gave a long look at Castle. "Detective I thought you looked like you were in pain in there. I sent in Esposito and Ryan to finish up for you."

"Sir I'm…" Kate stopped as Gates turned her head and looked at Castle again. "…feeling a little bit run down yes."

"Go home. You've done enough for today. I really didn't except you to report for duty today anyway. Mr. Castle please be sure that Detective Beckett gets here proper rest. "

"Yes Sir, certainly."

Castle didn't question when Kate deviated from their normal way home. He suspected, and as they neared a small park, a small park with swings, he knew where they were going and why. It was time to talk. The weather was still perfect as they walked up the path toward the swings. School had been out for over an hour and the kids were heading home to dinner and homework. Kate surprised Castle by latching onto his arm. Kate was technically still on duty and Castle was worried about being seen and leaving the wrong impression. "Relax Babe, they are writing me up for a Medal of Valor. They will cut me some slack if I'm seen on the arm of my husband in the park and we aren't actively involved in a case."

"Medal of Valor…Kate that's great. Its…"

"I know, but I had to save them."

"I know."

Kate sat in the first swing and Castle took the second. "Babe, we need to talk," as she reached out and grabbed Castle's hand.

"Kate I'm sorry if I neglected you. It's just when I get close to the deadline I get so focused I tune everything out. I'll try to manage the workload better the next. Forgive me, ok?"

Kate was momentarily speechless. "You didn't miss me did you?..."Why should you" she answered herself? "You have been working this way for years…. I brought you here so that I could apologize. During the last week I got so caught up in the case and I really didn't think about you for a second, other than being pissed that you weren't making breakfast. It was like I was the work driven Beckett of old. I'm your wife now and I failed you. I should have taken care of you and I didn't. Forgive me, ok?"

"Next time I'll try to manage my work load…"

"..and I will at least see to it that you have a cup of coffee in the morning. ..Deal?"

"Only if you will accompany me to dinner at Q3."

"Only if it includes a carriage ride."

"Two if you like."

"Deal"

"One other thing. I don't want to know how you got your vest out of my locked cruiser. ... I'm just glad that you can."

After dinner and the other domestic chores had been completed, Kate was once again in her chair with Castle asleep on the couch. The Yankees were on the tube with the sound turned down low. Kate looked over at Castle, reached out and gently touched his face. 'I'm lucky' she thought. 'Today I learned that I'm being nominated for the Medal of Valor. My husband probably saved my life and earned a new nickname, and that he is a happily married man.'

She watched as Castle woke up, sat up and looked over at her with sleep filled eyes. 'Oh, yeah I learned that I need to remind him that I love him. He's such a worrier,' she concluded as she moved to join him.

**Chapter 6 The Double Murphy **

Kate set the date for their special date night to be four days away, the night before her first non on-call day in over a month. When asked she told Castle that Dispatch normally doesn't assign cases on the night before because they know how precious non-call days are, and besides she said she would rather spend her non on-call day with him rather than preparing to be with him. Even Castle understood the logic in that.

While the days leading up to date night were case less they weren't event less. The Team still head to finish up the paperwork on their last two cases continue with the cold case review, and Kate's 'Ammunition Expended Report' raised eyebrows. After the third request for clarification she took Esposito's suggestion and referenced the Warehouse Video. That seemed to do the trick.

Castle's days were no less busy. The morning after Dan-Tom's murder Castle worked the phones and got for the Major what he wanted and deserved, that is to be buried in the cemetery at West Point. Castle can be a force of nature sometimes, and this was one of his causes. Kate was not surprised when Castle left early one morning to drive up for the funeral. Then there was the interview.

A local reporter tumbled to the fact that Castle was friends with a homeless person and hounded Castle for an interview. Kate didn't know what the reporter was looking for but his piece 'The stories behind the faces' was good. Really good. The reporter had caught the frustration and anger Castle had over the Government's treatment of Dan-Tom and his senseless murder. He caught the pride and determination of Emma making it to America, and the tragedy of a random bullet, and Bo's story was just spectacular. Why shouldn't the piece be good? The reporter was collaborating with a Master storyteller. Kate knew that Castle collected stories the way some folks collect coins or stamps. She was determined to make the story of her life with him a happy one.

When Captain Gates learned what Beckett and Castle wanted to do with the material from Dan-Tom's squat, the red tape seemed to float away. It was after Kate's shift, two days after the interview, when the Castle's returned to Central Park. It was not quite yet dusk, but it was getting dark. As they walked up the path toward Emma's home "She's not there," said an elderly man's voice from the shadow of his squat.

"Where did she go Bo?"

"Some people came this morning. Something about something in the paper. She went with them. She came down to say goodbye. She told me not to worry and to give you this if you came by." Bo held out a note.

Castle gently unfolded the note. 'Castle, these people want to give me a second chance. I'm going to take it and make it. I gave them my word. I gave them my word the same way I gave it to you. Kate, kiss your man for me, he's earned it. - E Rose'

"I never knew her last name," said Castle.

Leaving Dan-Tom's stuff with Bo, they headed back to the Loft. Each was hoping the best for Emma.

Kate had taken some personal time to get her hair cut, nails done, pick up her new dress and arrive at the Loft with plenty of time to shower and dress for 'their special night out.' When she opened the door she was surprised to see Castle already dressed in his tuxedo, except for his tie of course, and obviously nervous about something. "Babe?"

"Ugh, Kate there's been a change in plans…. Dinner is earlier… It's at Fred's instead of Q3 …. And we have company.

"What happened?"

"Well a Senior VP from Black Swan is in town today. He and his wife suggested dinner this evening with us, Gina, and Amy. I couldn't think of a way to refuse."

"You knew this when?"

"Around one."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"The principle of the least mad."

"The what" Kate laughed?

"If I called you when I found out you would have all afternoon to get angry with me. Now since the town car will be here in an hour and ten minutes," said Castle as he checked his watch. "You have time to get dressed but no time to get mad. Could you" Castle asked as he held up the ends of his tie?

Kate smiled; Castle's words did have some degree of logic to them. She would just have to get mad at him later.' I'm not wearing this to a business dinner,' Kate thought as she put down her new dress and moved over to tie Castle's tie. 'I'll wear the purple dress he always likes.' As Kate was tying Castle's tie, his hands assumed their normal position around her waist.

"Hey you cut your hair. It makes you look more beautiful than ever."

"Not going to work Mr. Charmer. Nothing is going to make me forget that you traded away an intimate dinner with your wife for a business dinner."

"Kate I…" Castle stopped when Kate put a finger to his lips.

"This is the deal. YOU will reschedule our dinner at Q3. I was looking forward to chatting with Madison… and the carriage ride," said Kate with a sly smile. "AND we will have one more special date night. This time I will do all the planning. Agreed?"

Castle kissed Kate's finger in agreement. He remembered the last time he agreed to an open ended date night like this. On it he had to accompany Kate and Lanie to the ballet. He hated the ballet. Of course arriving at an event like that with a beautiful woman on each arm was wonderful for his image. Now he was married. Still a night out with Kate was a night out with Kate. She gave him a quick kiss then turned to leave. "Is that all I get?"

"For now," Kate offered. "You better hope dinner is real entertaining."

Reluctantly Castle let Kate go to get dressed.

When Kate entered the room she watched Castles eyes grow wide and the smile on his face grow huge. Nothing warmed Kate's heart more than seeing the appreciative expression on Rick's face when she walked into the room.

"You like," she asked as she twirled in place.

"Yes," Castle replied "Yes I do."

Kate handed Castle her shawl and turned away so that he could put it over her shoulders. As she did so the phone in her purse went off. Both of them looked at it like it was a deadly snake.

"Detective Beckett…. I see… Where? … I'm on my way."

"Babe…They already have caught the suspect…"  
"…But because it's a Homicide they need a Homicide Detective I know."

"Sorry"

Castle pulled Kate into a gentle hug. "I heard. At least we can go down stairs together. …You will be the best dressed and best smelling Detective at the crime scene. Common on. "

Kate smiled to herself as she felt Castle's eyes on her as she walked away. As she turned into the garage she turned and threw Castle a kiss. When it was caught and returned she gave a final wave and headed to her cruiser. Taking a deep breathe Kate tried to focus. She had to leave Mrs. Castle here and become Detective Beckett once again.

Castle paused at the door of the town car and watched Kate walk away. Castle had always admired Kate's walk, and tonight was no exception. After Kate disappeared into the garage, Castle got into the car, sighed and directed the driver to Fred's. He was already missing his wife.

**Chapter 7 A Penny for Your Thoughts**

"The establishment is closed ma'am. Crime scene."

"Laird, let Detective Beckett into her crime scene," said Eastman.

Officer Laird did a double-take and then lifted the tape. "Detective … I"

"I will take that as a complement," said Beckett with a winning smile as she ducked under the up raised table and headed into 'The Copper Penny'. 'The Copper Penny' was a mid-scale eatery and bar in Hell's Kitchen. Its location made it an ideal choice for theater goers to pop in for either a drink or a light meal either before or after the show and the prices were such that a family could afford to eat here. The décor was as traditional as the layout. Booths hugged the outside walls surrounding an inner layer of tables. An inner wall separated a substantial bar from the main dining area.

Detective Beckett took two steps past the second set of double doors and paused. "Beckett," Esposito called out and pointing behind him, "Lanie is in the corridor by the bathrooms." Kate nodded and walked slowly toward the crime scene. As she did she noted and categorized the Officers and Detectives taking statements as well as the civilians. Esposito and Ryan were talking to a couple who appeared to be anxious to be elsewhere. Uniformed Officers were talking to a group of young men who had the feel of being active duty military. Others were talking to the bartender and the wait staff.

Beckett found Lanie and CSU outside the Men's Bathroom. Further down the hallway were the emergency exit from the restaurant and the rear exit-only door from the kitchen. Lying on the floor was a medium height dark haired man dressed in a denim jacket and dress slacks and good shoes. But the most distinctive feature was the knife sticking out of his chest.

The smear on the wall suggested that the victim was slammed against the walk, stabbed, and held upright and then allowed to slump to the floor. "What do we have?"

"That is NOT your new dress," observed Lanie.

"Our date night got morphed into a business dinner, and there was no way I was going to wear by new dress to a business dinner."

"Castle still alive?"

"Yeah, it wasn't his fault. He' still going to pay though," said Kate with a sly smile.

"Got that that right," Lanie smiled back.

"Cause of Death?"

"Knife thrust straight into the heart. The interesting thing is the killing thrust. It came up from under the ribs. This guy was killed by someone skilled with this weapon. I'll know more when I get him in the lab."

"Anything special about the murder weapon?"

"It's a copy of a British WWII Fairbairn-Sykes Commando combat knife. Not unique enough to trace," said Esposito.

"Is there a blood trail?"

"No Detective," said one of the CSU techs. "The blood is localized here."

"He's been identified as Robert 'Bob' Adams," said Esposito. "He's a semi-regular here. He was found by the Winston's and soon after by Officers Stevens and Reynolds."

"Mr. and Mrs. Winston found our suspect, Corporal John Knowles, holding Bob against the wall with his left hand and his right hand on the knife," added Ryan. "Officers Stevens and Reynolds arrived maybe ten seconds after the Winston's. The wait staff told us that those two had a run in earlier."

"Corporal?"

"Yeah," said Esposito. "Corporal Knowles is a Marine out of the Barracks at 8th and I in DC."

"The Presidential Security Detail?"

"A lot of other units are stationed there, but Corporal Knowles is part of the Presidential Security Detail," added Esposito.

"What's his story?"

"He and his buddies have a forty-eight hour pass. They came up to see The Book of Mormon tonight, take in the zoo in the morning, ballgame tomorrow night, and then the late train back to DC," said Esposito.

"The run in with the victim?"

"Spilled drink, they bought him a fresh one."

"Doesn't make sense. A Presidential Security Detail guy just doesn't kill a guy in a restaurant over a spilled drink. What does he say?"

"He came here to use the head. Saw the vic. Reached out to steady him, that's when Mrs. Winston screamed."

"The scream brought Officers Stevens and Reynolds running," said Ryan nodding toward a pair of Uniformed Officers.

"Detective we had finished a Domestic Call and stopped in here to eat," said Reynolds.

"Yeah, food is good, prices are reasonable, and the service is great. I mean they try to get us in and out quick," added Stevens.

"We were sitting right by the hallway there. We didn't notice anybody coming out bloody or overly anxious," said Reynolds. "When we heard the scream we were here in maybe five to six seconds."

"So he didn't have a chance to run?"

"No Detective. When we got here we also saw the suspect holding the vic up and he did appear to have his hand on the knife."

Kate nodded and smiled, "Thanks guys. I think we got everything we need from you. If we think of something we know where to find you. This has to be the quickest response time in history."

"Detective," said Officer Reynolds, "if this is how the Detectives dress in the 12th, I just might consider a transfer."

"I don't get it," added Stevens. "I mean he knew we were here. He nodded to us on his way by."

"Personal effects?"

"Just the watch and ring."

'That's strange,' thought Kate. 'No wallet or keys.'

"Suspect?"

"Normal stuff, wallet, keys, pocket knife, loose change…Nothing we could tie to the vic."

"How did he conceal it" asked Kate? All eyes looked at the short sleeved suspect.

"Leg sheathe" offered Ryan?

"He's out on the town in New York City with three other Marines and he's carrying a combat knife" asked Beckett?

Esposito shook his head no. "I don't get it either."

"Doors?"

"Both sets are on the alarm system," said Ryan. "We got a copy of the security log. No events. The outer door also has an audio alarm, which no one heard. In the morning the security company is sending us a copy of their master log for this place. "

"What we got," started Beckett. "Is a victim who had a previous run in with the suspect."

"Spilled drink," confirmed Esposito.

"The victim was killed by someone skilled with a combat knife."

"A Marine would qualify," said Ryan.

"No one went into the kitchen. No one went out the back door or came down the hall past the Officers."

"That eliminates suspects," said Laine.

"Two witnesses saw the suspect holding up the vic and have his hand on the knife. Seconds later two Officers arrive on the scene and see virtually the same thing."

"That is a pretty tight box," admitted Esposito.

"Means, motive, and opportunity," summed Beckett.

"The only thing easier would be a confession," said Ryan.

"Why don't you and Esposito take a run at him," said Beckett.

Despite Ryan's and Esposito's best efforts to obtain a confession, Corporal John Knowles maintained his innocence.

Kate wasn't a bit surprised that Castle was still out when she returned from the precinct. After stowing her gear and changing into house clothes, Kate started to chill a bottle of wine, and opened the curtains so that they could enjoy the view. After starting a fire in the fireplace and placing pillows in the appropriate locations, she started light jazz on the stereo. Satisfied that her preparations were as complete as she could make them Kate grabbed her e-reader curled up in her chair and waited.

"That son of a bitch," bellowed Castle as he blew through the door and headed straight toward his office. "Oh, Hi Kate."

"You had better be breaking out the good stuff Castle," exclaimed Amy as she headed toward the counter. "That is the only way I'm going to be able to taste of this night out of my mouth…Oh, Hi Kate."

"I didn't know he was going to do that," exclaimed an apologetic Gina as she too headed toward the bar. "Oh, Hi Kate."

Kate book marked her place, got up and headed toward the counter. Amy and Gina were Loft veterans. They easily settled into the stools on the living room side of the counter. As Castle was busy digging out a bottle of the good stuff and glasses Kate went to the fridge and brought out a bowl of ice and settled onto one of the other stools. From the sound of the animated conversation this was going to be a council of war, and according to Loft tradition this was the spot.

Kate smiled to herself as the conversation between Amy and Gina continued unabated. In the Castle house matters of State were discussed and decided here at the counter. Matters of the heart were settled on the couch, and matters of commerce were settled in Castle's office.

Castle arrived and began pouring, when he got to Kate's glass he hesitated. "Just a drop," Kate advised. Castle nodded, complied and poured himself a generous portion. Rick knew Kate would drink anything, but this was a single malt scotch and Kate was most definitely a Bourbon girl more specifically a Tennessee whiskey girl.

"Okay," said Kate after she had taken a sip, "How bad did Fred's over cook your chops?" Everyone laughed as Amy recovered from chocking on her drink. After the laughter had died down Kate asked. "What's the story guys? Why am I getting the weird looks?"

Castle scooted his chair closer to Kate and captured her hand left hand in his right. "You aren't going to like the beginning and none of us liked the end. " Taking another sip he began.

"The newly appointed Lord and Mistress of East Coast Operations for Black Swan Publishing, is Mr. James and Mrs. Joyce Edgerton. They apparently got the job because of their ability to trim expenses."

"And now we know how," quipped Amy.

"They asked after you when I arrived," continued Castle. "When I said that you got called away on a case, Mrs. Edgerton said that being called away like that was impolite and you should have handled it better."

"When Castle pointed out that you were a cop and had no choice in the matter…," offered Gina.

"She said that she and her husband don't eat dinner with the hired help often and you should have had someone cover for you so that you could be there and meet them."

"She didn't say that…" said Gina.

"Grant the author his literary license," said Amy. "What I thought I head was worse."

"Next we had a discussion…,"

"Lecture really," offered Amy.

"On the Police Officer and their contribution to society," continued Castle.

"As overpaid, doughnut eating, coffee drinking, gun happy morons that have no place in today's society," said Gina. "I've never seen Castle madder, and we've had some knock down drag outs in our time."

"What was worse," said Amy locking eyes with Kate, "Is that she said she could not see reason why anyone would want to marry a cop."

Kate looked into Castle's eyes. In them she only saw his love for her. She felt the gentle squeeze of his hand, and returned it. "This woman has got to go," said Kate. "Remind me to wear my weapon the next time with have a sit down. Perhaps I can arrest her for bad manners or something."

"Love to, except she is the VP."

"You say the evening got worse."

"Yeah"  
"I can't wait to hear this!"

"Dinner was of course excellent. Finally after desert and coffee she suggested that we reconvene at their new apartment in Tribeca to discuss a five book deal," said Castle.

"A five book deal sounds great," said Kate.

"It did," confirmed Amy. "Once we made it to their new place we split up and got a tour."

"They have a real nice place," confirmed Gina. "James was especially proud of the bedroom. He hinted that if I co-operated I could be adding high profile authors to my portfolio."

"He didn't," exclaimed Castle.

"You too," exclaimed Amy. "For me, he offered to put me in contact with the up and coming authors."

"Well Castle," laughed Kate. "Was it three for three?"

"Yeah it was."

Kate drained her scotch, made a face, dropped a couple of ice cubes into her glass and pushed it towards Castle. "I see what you mean," said Kate.

"We haven't got to the good part yet," said Castle as he added scotch to Kate's glass.

"You mean it gets better?"

"Yeah," said Amy. "The five book deal… it was for half the money and a very very accelerated schedule."

Kate looked from Amy to Castle. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Book production on a six month basis and the money roughly half of my previous contract."

"And stiff penalties for any delay in the production schedule," added Gina. "Less revenue for the residuals…not a good deal."

"We spent the next half hour or so politely saying no, "said Amy. "They are going to send the papers over for our review tomorrow anyway."

"Plans?"

"Counter offer of course."

"Do you know where you stand relative to your poker crowd?"

"I'm not in Patterson's class, few are. I stack up okay with the rest of the crowd."

"A couple of strategies come to mind," started Kate as she took another small sip. "One is counter-offer as if you're better than Patterson, and then work toward an acceptable compromise."

"I can see that," said Amy.

"Gina, you aren't going to like this. Amy, how hard would it be to place Castle with another publishing house?"

"Two phone calls," Amy replied quickly. "One to leave a message, and the second one to close the deal."

"Thought so. What if we completely ignored Black Swan's offer? I mean this VP sounds like an egotistical control freak and not responding would probably ruffle her feathers big time and maybe cause her to panic. Stall her, don't return her calls. When cornered admit that you have received the paperwork, but it was so ridiculous you don't consider it a valid enough offer to begin negotiations."

"I can do that," said Amy. "And it's true."

"Also can you 'leak' that Castle is unhappy and may consider jumping ship? If anyone inquires you can confirm by saying you are considering the possibilities, but are not actively searching right now, but when Castle gives the word you will be calling."

"Passive marketing via the rumor mill got it!"

"Castle has been with Black Swan forever. Gina, is there someone in your company you can go to and explain the situation? Right now I'm afraid Castle will walk."

"I have the ears of a few people. The rumor mill, and the release of the new book, which I think is your best yet, will cause some people to take notice. Yeah I will talk to a few people about this and the bedroom offer. Castle don't sign with anyone until we get a chance to work this out okay?"

"Okay. I'm going to assume business as usual and I need to have a book ready in ten months. "

For the next hour the war council drank, debated, and decided on a course of action. After Amy and Gina left Castle joined Kate at the window, hugging her from behind he whispered, "Fireplace, chilled wine?"

"Peace offering," Kate admitted. "The business dinner wasn't your fault, and my case got in the way."

"We are who and what we are," Castle said as he nibbled gently on Kate's ear. "Do you have to go in tomorrow?"

"Yes, the case is cut and dried, but there is a complicating factor. Come in with me, we can walk through the case, hit the gym for baton practice, and then you can buy me lunch."

"Ten okay? There some things I need to do."

Kate nodded, gently broke out of the hug and closed down the fireplace. Hand –in –hand they made their way to the bed room.

**Chapter 8 Castle and the Marine**

"What's up bro" asked Esposito with genuine warmth?

"Kate of course. I came down to hear about last night's case. Then I get to have my ass kicked in the gym. After that I get to take her to lunch. Not a bad morning. Where is she by the way?"

"In the small conference room with Captain Gates and Captain Woods, she's a Marine," said Ryan.

"Marine?"

"From the JAG. Our case last night, we had a Marine form the 8th and I detachment kill a local in a restaurant. "

"Seriously? A Presidential Detail guy?"

"Yeah, he and the vic had a run end earlier in the evening. He was found holding the vic against the wall with his hand on the combat knife that pierced his heart."

"What do we know about the vic?"

"A semi-regular at the restaurant, a couple of moving violations, nothing more."

"The Marines Story?"

"He and a couple of buds out on a forty-eight pass. They came up to see a show, go to the zoo, watch a ballgame and head back."

"This in New York. He packs a combat knife to come here" asked Castle? Esposito just shrugged. "Moving violations, where are his house and car keys? Where's his wallet? How did he pay for his drinks? Cash? Credit Card? Has his Credit Card been used? Did anyone else have a beef with him? What do we really know about this guy?"

"Who is this guy? And why is he asking the questions I want answers to" said a strangely musical voice?

Castle turned around and looked … up. Marine Captain Mary Woods was at least six-five and a woman, a solidly built and attractive woman at that. Her dark black hair barely touched the collar of her BDU's. Castle noticed her unit patch and JAG symbol on her uniform.

"That is my husband," Kate replied "Richard Castle."

"He's a consultant of sorts," offered Captain Gates.

"Castle this is Captain Mary Woods. She's her to do an independent investigation into the charges levied against Corporal Knowles."

"Captain," said Castle offering his hand. "I thought someone from the MP Company would be doing the footwork."

"Normally yes, but I'm from Hell's Kitchen and between cases so…"

"You get to see the old stomping grounds while on the job, got it."

"I understand the circumstances of Corporal Knowles capture leaves little doubt in the minds of the NYPD, but as you yourself pointed out Mr. Castle there are considerable questions that need to be asked and answered. … Consultant did you say Captain Gates," asked Woods as she turned to look at Captain Gates. "So he knows Police Procedures and such."

"He has a fairly good working knowledge of that Captain, better in fact then some of my serving Officers."

"Would there be a conflict of interest with the NYPD if I solicited Mr. Castle's help with the investigation?"

"Not with the NYPD," answered Gates.

"How about it Mr. Castle? Care to help me answer those questions. I do have a small budget I can use to put you on retainer." She watched Castle's eyes track from her to Detective Beckett. Ah, she thought, the conflict will be with his wife, Detective Beckett.

"It's okay Castle," Kate said. "Our hands are tied, and if there is anything out there I'm sure that you will find it. "

"You sure?"

"Yeah Babe."

"Okay Captain I'm in."

"Good, by the way Mr. Castle what rate do you charge?"

"For you Captain I will charge the same rate I did the US Marshalls a while ago. Two dollars a day, payable in coin, plus ammunition and I don't carry a gun, just this, "said Castle as he pulled out his baton. "When do we start?"

Captain Woods looked from Castle back to Beckett. "That WAS the agreed upon rate Captain," Kate confirmed with a smile. "Five days at two dollars a day plus two dollars for ammunition, twelve one-dollar gold coins."

"Your proposal is accepted, how about now?"

"Captain I would like a word with my husband first."

"Of course Detective, of course," she said as she watched them walk off toward the conference room.

"What's that about," verbalized Captain Woods.

"That's a worried wife asking her husband to be careful. Castle is a trouble magnet you know," said Esposito.

"Trouble magnet?"

"Trouble magnet," confirmed Ryan. "We can have a full tactical response Team ready to breach a warehouse, and Castle can be sitting outside in Kate's Cruiser and guess where the bad guys will be?"

"Outside with Castle," added Esposito. "Drives Detective Beckett crazy. Be aware of what's going on and don't be afraid to call for help. Castle may not be a serving Officer, but a whole lot of people will come a'runnin if he calls for help."

When the Marine and Castle left the precinct for the Copper Penny, Captain Gates approached Beckett's Team. "I know it appears we have a strong case, but the absence of the victim's wallet and keys do raise a couple of questions. Let's try to find his car, if he has one. Put an alert on his credit cards and ask a unit to drop by his apartment to be sure everything is okay. When is his next of kin coming in?"

"Right after lunch Sir. His brother is driving in from Jersey."

"Oh, and if Castle uncovers something, work it quietly."

Castle and the Captain arrived at the Copper Penny well before the lunch crunch. After ordering a couple of ice teas at the bar, the Captain and Castle wandered toward the restrooms and the scene of the crime. Castle wasn't surprised to see the wall and floor scrubbed clean and free of blood. On a hunch Castle went down to the emergency exit and stopped dead in his tracks. "Captain could you take a look at this."

"What am I looking at Castle?"

"See the copper tape at the top of the door? I think someone put it there to fool the sensors. We need to talk to the manager," said Castle as he took a picture of the door and sent it to Kate.

"Mr. Murray I'm Richard Castle. I'm a consultant with the NYPD and this is Captain Woods. We need to talk to you about the incident last night and specifically the emergency exit door."

"There isn't much to tell. The cops caught the guy red handed, so to speak. What do you want to know about the door?"

"Has it been opened today" asked Captain Woods?

"No, we won't get our first delivery till around two. Why?"

"I think the alarm has been defeated," said Castle.

"How" asked Mr. Murray getting up from his chair and heading toward the door of his office?

"Copper tape up near the magnets to make the alarm think the circuit is still connected when the door is opened. "

Mr. Murray cursed quietly when he saw the tape. "Son of a Bitch," he exclaimed when the alarm did not go off when he opened the door.

"Do you check it at night before you go home" asked the Captain?

"No we just make sure that the control panel says the door is 'Armed'. "

"You might want the alarm company to come out and do a systems check for you," suggested Castle.

"Yeah, good idea. You don't think this had anything to do with the killing do you?"

"Don't know Sir," said the Captain. "But it could. One other thing, could we see last night's video from the camera that covers this exit?"

"Sure, follow me. …The murder occurred around seven-twelve so let's start at seven o'clock straight up, Okay? "

"Did you see that," asked the Captain in an excited voice.

"Yeah," said Mr. Murray. "Could be nothing, but it looked like the top corner of the door, and then a shadow." The time-stamp read seven-ten.

"Mr. Murray, after I call my partner, I think the Police will be very interested in a copy of this video."

"Yeah, I think they will. I've got a felling someone has being casing this place and I need to update security around here."

Mr. Murray walked the Captain and Castle back to their seats in the bar, told the bartender that lunch and drinks were on the house and rushed back into his office.

"What was that all about" asked the bartender as he came down to refill their ice tea glasses?

"It appears someone messed with your emergency exit door," said Castle. "Say were you here last night?"

"Sure, I'm here every night except Tuesday. Why."

"Did you see what happen between the Marine and the guy who was killed?"

"Nothing really. The Marine was talking with his buds and backed into Bob. Bob spilt some of his drank on the counter. The Marine asked me to pour a fresh one and put it on his tap. "

"I thought there was an altercation?"

"For about two seconds, Bob was just starting to complain then the Marine offered to buy and that was that."

"How did Bob pay for his drinks," asked Castle.

"Credit card of course. Now days nobody carries cash. You guys want an early lunch? "

"Too early for me," said the Captain, "Castle?"

"I'll pass, just keep the glass full. I've got a couple of calls to make."

"Beckett" asked the Captain?

"Yeah, she can help."

"I don't think that is a good idea," said the Captain with a look of pleading in her eyes.

"Look Captain I know you think that the rigged door and video provide a good alternate theory of the case. Namely that Bob was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He observed a person modifying the door, questioned it and paid for it with his life. The killer killed Bob and exited out of the rigged door. Corporal Knowles just went to use the head at the wrong time and the rest is history."

"But it is just that, a THEORY. The prosecution has four witnesses, two of them cops who will testify that they saw Corporal Knowles with his hand on the murder weapon. Theory," said Castle holding his left hand high in the air. "Testimony of four witnesses two of them cops "continued Castle with his right hand down as low as possible. "Guess which one will be weighted the heaviest by the jury. The only way to clear Corporal Knowles is to find the killer.

"I know, it's just…"

"I know you think Beckett's hands are tied. They are to a point. But I know she is willing to stretch the rules a bit and if we give her something solid she will run with it. Now she can legitimately bring in Robbery. She will help us. Having her on our side is the best thing for Corporal Knowles."

"Okay. While you're talking to her, I pull a few threads of my own."

Within three minutes of forwarding Castle's picture of the rigged door to Detective Green in Robbery, Detective Beckett had visitors. Robbery's story was simple. There was a new crew in town and this was their MO. They had hit four previous places, all of them on Friday or Saturday night when the business's receipts were the highest. They were a skilled crew. They had done their homework. Each site had been scouted and prepped. The external security was expertly bypassed and the internal security was negated in such a manner that it didn't register on the Security Company's logs. Each of the places had a safe where they stored the night's receipts. The safe had been drilled open, again with no alarms being triggered.

"In and out in twenty or less," said Detective Green, "and so far with no clues. This picture is our first real clue on how they are defeating the alarms. Is Castle around?"

"No he's out. This picture was taken at the Copper Penny. I'm sure the owner would appreciate some company, and some advice," said Kate.

"We were thinking that ourselves."

"Do you anything about the crew" asked Esposito?

"Other than they have knowledge of alarm systems, and safes no. We suspect they're local to Hell's Kitchen so their scouting missions won't attract attention. Outside of that nothing. You think these ties to your Homicide?"

"It is a good alternate theory, but we have no proof. We have a suspect in custody. If you investigate you won't be stepping on our toes. But if you find someone skilled in the use of a combat knife, then we will be very interested."

"Understood, I think it's time we visited the Copper Penny," said Detective Green.

Castle's follow-up call was anti-climactic. Castle shared the information about the missing credit card and the bartender thinking the alleged altercation was nothing more than fantasy. Kate shared the Robbery information. The one piece of information that Kate did not share was the fact that they got a hit on the victim's credit card and that it occurred at a diner in Hell's Kitchen. She was going to check it out after she had dealt with the next of kin. 'I'm not going to put you in danger Babe,' Kate told herself.

"What's our next move" asked Captain Woods?

"I thought we would take a look at the vic's apartment. If his credit cards and keys are missing…"

"..Then we might be able to find the killer at the apartment," finished the Captain. "Good. I like it."

"But first you are going to tell me why you are really here."

"As I said…"

"I heard. I just don't believe you. This isn't my first case involving servicemen. In all other cases we had MPs with us doing the legwork, not JAG lawyers. What's your story? Your real story?" Captain Woods would not meet Castle's eyes. He watched a wide range of emotions play across her face, anger, fear, love, and finally back to fear. When her eyes seemed to settle on her left hand Castle thought he understood.

"Let me tell you a story," he began after taking a large sip of tea. "Over a year ago my wife, my fiancé then, my Kate had been accused of murder and had been targeted by an assassination Team. They missed. They underestimated her. I was willing to sacrifice everything to keep her safe. My reputation, my wealth, my life, everything, all I wanted was for Kate to be safe. If she was safe then we stood a chance of clearing her name. "

"Then you understand desperation."

"Absolutely," whispered Castle.

Captain Woods took a long drink of her tea locked eyes with Castle and said, "Corporal Johnathan Edwards Knowles is my finance. What gave me away?"

"Kate noted the discrepancy and thought it was personal. No ring, Officer Enlisted thing?"

"More complicated than that, my brother is John's CO."

"That IS more complicated. Military family?"

"Since the French- Indian Wars," Captain Woods smiled.

"You?"

"I…I never knew my father…"

"Sorry… What's our next move?"

"Vic's apartment. Ready?"

It was a short cab ride to the vics apartment. As they were getting out of the cab, Castle noticed two men putting a LCD TV into the back of an older red Ford Explorer that was double parked. Noting the license plate number he and Captain Woods proceeded into the building to find the super's office and talk him into letting them see the vic's apartment. He had to hand it to the Captain. She had elevated persuasion to an art form. In no time flat they were on the fourth floor and heading toward the vic's apartment. When they got there the door was…open.

Captain Woods and Castle locked eyes. Castle reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his baton. Captain Woods nodded and held up three fingers. On three they burst into the apartment as Castle deployed his baton. It was obvious that the place had been robbed.

"Call it in Mr. Casey," said Castle. "I'm going to call my partner. "

Kate was on her way to the elevator to meet Mr. Adams's brother when Castle called. Considering the credit card hit, hearing that the apartment had been robbed was not much of a surprise. "Let me check the vehicle registration," Kate said. "Kevin A. Jacobs of Hell's Kitchen." 'Two blocks away from the diner with the credit card hit' Kate kept to herself. "Let's see if he is in the system. Yes a couple of Breaking and Entering's. Stopped when he joined the Army, General Discharge a couple of months ago." 'A month prior to the start of the recent robbery crew,' noticed Kate. 'I'll pass this to Detective Green.'

"Do we know what he did in the Service" asked Captain Woods?

"Not from this screen," replied Kate. "Look Mr. Adam's brother got here early. I need to run. What are your plans?"

"I thought we would go the 'Green Tea' for lunch," said Captain Woods. "I want to see how the place has changed. It's near the Flea Market on 39th near 9th Avenue."

"Okay," Kate gasped. The Green Tea was the diner where the credit card occurred. Kate had a bad feeling about this. If Mr. Jacobs was part of the crew and if he saw Castle enter the building he had just robbed and if… Kate did not like her train of thought. She had to finish with Mr. Adams and get to the Green Tea herself. She would send Espo and Ryan, but they went to the range and what for? To babysit Castle? That was her job.

"Enjoy," Kate managed to say before she hurried off to console Mr. Adams. I need to make this brief. I have a husband to rescue.

"Mr. Castle I must confess I have another motive for going to the Green Tea. While you were talking with your partner this morning I had one of my office mates put out an alert on Mr. Adam's credit cards. There was a hit this morning at the Green Tea."

"You didn't want to tell Beckett …"

"..,because she would rightly say its Police business and we should not go there. You still with me?"

"Kate and I have survived stupider things. I'm in. For two bucks you deserve a full day of support."

"So far it's the best two bucks I've ever spent. ... Doesn't the robbery and the credit card hit prove that John didn't kill Mr. Adams?"

"No. It only proves that Mr. Adams lost his wallet and keys prior to getting killed by John."

"Oh, you're right. My lawyer head knows that, it's just my heart wants it to be otherwise."

"Trust your heart," said Castle softly. "From where I sit I can see it's in the right place."

Castle froze when Captain Woods reached out and squeezed his hand. Looking straight ahead she said in a soft musical voice, "If we had met sooner and if you weren't already married to a woman you love and loves you just as much and I not already engaged to the best man in the world, we might have had a beautiful relationship." After another gentle squeeze the Captain released Castle's hand and put her hand back into her lap.

For the rest of the brief cab ride Castle was speechless.

The Green Tea was right across the street from the Flea Market and appeared to be doing a brisk lunch time business. After a few minutes wait the Captain and Castle where shoehorned into a table for two. The people eating in or a in the take-out line looked like a snapshot of New York. There were suits who would not be out of place on Wall Street eating next door to a pair of Con Ed guys in hardhats, a couple of nurses in scrubs, a mother and her three young children who had just finished shopping in the Flea Market, and a Marine Captain and a writer. 'I wonder what all their stories are' thought Castle as he reached for the menu?

Taking a deep breath he could smell the burgers and fries, and the peanut cooking oil. He could hear the sizzle of the meat on the grill and the whoosh as water was turned into steam when it was splashed onto a hot wok. The menu offered both American and Oriental lunches, and that was causing Castle enormous problems. How could he order his beloved cheeseburger basket when there was egg drop soup to be had? In the end he remembered the huge dinner he had last night and settled on the egg drop soup and a half order of fried rice, and of course Green Tea.

During lunch, Castle was of course Castle and managed to get Captain Woods to tell him part of her story. "You know we meet at the Marine Corps birthday party last November. I came up to be with my brother and when I turned around he was there. In a room full of Marines, he was the only one that I saw."

"Dating must have been…"

"…Like a mission impossible mission. I mean each of us wanting to be with the other and yet afraid that we would be discovered."

"Have you told your brother yet?"

"No. My Mom and my Dad the Colonel, yes. They are good secret keepers. My Dad told me not to tell Bob, my brother, Chain-of-Command thing. He only asked me one question. Do I love him? When I said yes he told me to marry him and don't let anything stand in my way. Castle what's wrong?"

All through Mary's story Castle had become more and more nervous. Now he knew why. The man two tables away had just gotten off of his cell phone and looked Castle in the eye. It was one of the men form the red Ford Explorer back at the vic's apartment.

Castle leaned in and laughed. "Captain the man behind you was at the vic's apartment house. He was one of the guys loading the TV into the Explorer. "

"That's Okay," the Captain replied. "The other guy is sitting behind you and has been staring holes into the back of your head for the last fifteen minutes. I suggest we call for back-up and get out of here."

Castle sped dialed Kate, " Kate listen I think Captain Woods and I are being stalked….. Yeah the men from the apartment. How did you know? … I'm going to leave my phone on and walk out. If it's nothing we will catch a cab and be back to the 12th shortly… You're where? … Okay we'll meet you at the taxi stand… If it's something then you will know where to send the cavalry. …Yeah right… You probably want to keep your phone on mute… Love you too. "

"Ready Captain?"

"Urban warfare, you got to love it."

The nearest cab stand was on the other side of the Market. As they made their way through the Market they found themselves trapped.

"Well well what do we have here? A Police wantabe and a plaything. A large Marine Plaything," said the leader. A large man easily six-six and in excess of three hundred pounds. "You know Mr. Police wantabe, we might let you watch as we enjoy the large plaything you brought us."

"Seven of you against the two of us about two-thirds of the way through the Flea Market hardly seems fair. For you that is."

"Really," said a medium height blond haired man suddenly welding a knife.

"Oh you have another one of those do you," said Castle. "You left one in Mr. Adams you know."

"So that was his name. Yeah, bad luck on his part. Some people pick the worst time to go to the bath room. I mean he saw me then tried to run. He had to die."

_'__Thank you Castle. What a way to extract a confession.' "Dispatch this is One-Mary-Fourteen. Officer needs assistance. We have two civilians trapped by seven gang members. They are in the Flea Market in Hell's Kitchen on 39__th__near 9__th__Avenue. They are about a third of the way end from the South Entrance. I am at the South Entrance and proceeding in on foot. " _

_"__One-Mary-Fourteen, nearest back-up is two minutes out, Command unit ETA zero-five minutes. Intentions?"_

_"__I'm going to walk in and find them. That should make backup's job easier."_

_"__Copy. Please advise location of hostiles."_

"More like incompetence on your part if you ask me," said Captain Woods.

"The plaything has spirit," announced the leader. "This will make playtime more enjoyable."

As the men started to edge closer Captain Woods reached up, took off her cap and tucked into the small of her back. "Compared to the MEN I've had in my life, I doubt you guys have anything I would even notice. "

"Get them, "the leader growled.

Kate heard the familiar 'sprung' of Castle's baton and the solid smack of the baton hitting flesh. The scream told her the fight was up to her left and close. For the next several seconds the sounds of strikes, grunts of excretion was the focus of Kate's attention as her feet carried her closer to Castle.

Kate sighed with relief when she heard Castle ask "Is that all you got?"

"Put down the baton now fool," said a commanding voice.

"I guess a gun is definitely a good bargaining chip. And two guns even more so," said Captain Woods.

_I see them! "Dispatch One-Mary –Fourteen. The hostiles are In the T-five-left corridor and are armed."_

_"__T-five-left and armed, Roger. Backup has arrived and is proceeding to your location. Over"_

_"__Copy backup in route."_

"Mr. Police wantabe I was going to let you watch, but now… You have to die first. Put the baton down now."

Kate turned off her radio and phone and peaked around the corner. Castle and the Captain were standing side by side. Each appeared to have space to maneuver. Two of the attackers were down and not moving. A third was standing, shakily and a fourth was down on one knee. The other three were still standing. All eyes were on Castle no one was looking in her direction, except Castle.

"You know," Castle yelled keeping everyone's attention as Kate scurried silently forward. "This has really been a fun afternoon. I was beginning to wonder how I was going to work off lunch. And here you are. I mean I can't thank you enough for the live contact exercise. Working out in the gym against the same opponents can get stale don't you think? "

"Drop the baton fool"

"Everyone on the ground now," yelled Kate. "Don't even twitch, and let me see those hands. If I even think you are going to pull the trigger then you're dead. Oh yeah NYPD you're all under arrest. "

"Ah, you brought us another playmate," said the leader, maintaining his aim on Castle. "And she's alone."

"Alone? I don't think so," said another familiar voice from the other end of the row, Ryan.

"Our partner is never alone, "said Esposito as the unmistakable sound of a shell being chambered in a tactical shotgun echoed loudly in the now silent corridor.

"Sorry we're late," said Officer Eastman rushing in to stand beside Kate. "I let the rookie drive."

"Ah hell," exclaimed Captain Woods and she side stepped and snap kicked the third standing man into the corridor wall. As he slumped to the ground she yelled, "What you didn't think I would see you try to draw your gun? Dumbass!"

The mop-up went without incident.

Back at the precinct the Bull Pen was in fine form. The Team had prevented a miscarriage of justice; Corporal Knowles had been released and was on his way to the 12th, where his arrival was eagerly awaited by Captain Woods. The real killer had been caught, and had confessed. Robbery could now close four outstanding cases. An Olde Haunt night had been declared and was scheduled to start in a half an hour.

"Once again the cavalry saved your ass Castle," said a smiling and much relived Detective Beckett.

"Now what a minute," interjected Captain Woods. "That's blasphemy Detective, blasphemy. No Marine has ever been saved by the Cavalry, ever! Relief troops yes. Cavalry never!"

The party at the Olde Haunt was one they talked about for a long time.

**Chapter 9 The Caterer and the Bank Robber**

It was mid-morning and the Bull Pen was like a morgue. The Press had picked up on the Captain and Castle's story and run with it. In the newspapers and especially on the TV and radio talk shows Captain Woods and Richard Castle were being portrayed as heroes. The downside was that the NYPD was being portrayed as a non-caring, lazy, and non-imaginative organization that was primarily concerned with meeting 'their numbers' instead of providing justice for the people. And the person being vilified at the moment was the Lead Detective, one Kate Beckett. "…and Mr. Castle is unavailable for comment," said the announcer.

"That's not true," Kate mumbled out loud. "He put the first three calls on speaker. I heard the questions and his answers. You just don't want to use them."

"Don't them get to you Detective," said Captain Gates. "Everyone and I do mean everyone up the chain of command knows the situation and backs how you handled it. There are some second guessers, but it's hard to ignore four witnesses, especially since two of them were Officers. NOONE has lost any confidence in you or this Team," added the Captain taking in Ryan and Esposito.

"This will blow away as soon as something newsworthy happens. Two things though. I NEED the cold case reviews done by COB today and do you know how to get ahold of Castle? I need to take him down to Plaza One."

"Sure. May I ask why?"

"The real answer is I don't know. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with yesterday, and I'm positive it has nothing to do with your relationship with him. I just need to get him to a meeting in the Chief's Conference Room ASAP. They've been calling him, but it's been going into voice mail."

"With all the crap calls he was fielding this morning, he probably got pissed and turned his phone off."

"I really can't blame him." Captain Gates said as she watched Beckett open her purse pull out another phone, type a quick text then put that phone away. A moment later Kate's work phone rang.

"Hey Castle. Captain Gates needs to talk to you."

"Go ahead and put him on speaker Detective."

"You're on speaker. "

"What's this about Captain?"

"Mr. Castle I need you to accompany me to a meeting in the Chief's Conference Room as soon as you can get there, and I really don't know what it's about."

"Okay. Forty minutes? Assuming I can get a cab quickly. Let me talk to Kate privately."  
"Okay I'll tell them we're on our way."

"…No Castle I asked I really think she doesn't know… Cold Case review … They won't … Me too…Bye."

At the 12th

"Cold case review," muttered Esposito to no one in particular as he took five folders and passed the rest to Ryan. "If we couldn't solve it then, why do we think we can solve it now?"

Ryan took five and passed the rest to Beckett. "Some of these weren't our cases. Maybe we'll see something that they didn't."

Kate took her five cases, sat back down at her desk and started looking through the names on the case folders. 'Alberto Giusto' why does that name sound familiar? …. Giusto's? The Caterer? The one that Castle always uses for his Book Launch Parties?

Opening the folder Kate began reading.

'Alberto Giusto, aged 62, was found dead on March 3rd of this year at three-fifteen PM while sitting in the break area behind his company's building on 12th Street in the West Village. The cause of death was listed as anaphylactic shock, presumably from a bee sting.'

'Doctor Pearlmutter had listed the cause of death as anaphylactic shock, but under mysterious conditions.'

'Mysterious conditions' thought Kate as she turned the page? 'What could be mysterious about a bee sting?'

'The site of 'the sting' was on the right shoulder and the depth of the penetration was much greater than a typical bee sting suggesting that the victim was injected rather than stung. This suspicion is further strengthened by the fact that Mr. Giusto's EpiPen was still in his jacket pocket which implies that he did not feel the symptoms coming on. This suggests either a stronger than normal poison or higher than normal poison concentration. Unfortunately the test findings could not confirm either supposition.'

'The second factor supporting injection rather than a bee sting was the ambient temperature. The high for the day was forty-eight degrees at twelve-twenty-two. The ambient temperature at time of death, according to the weather service records, was thirty-nine degrees. Since bees do not generally leave the hive unless the temperature is greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit it is highly improbable that a bee stung the deceased.'

"Unfortunately the examination of the victim's body and clothes does not support the premise that the deceased was killed by an injection."

The police search of the company did not find any needles, drugs or anything else out of the ordinary. The Detectives stuck out on motive. Money, not an issue. Business complaints? None. Enemies? Rivals yes, enemies no. And he had been friends with most of the rivals for over twenty years. Disgruntled employee? Probably not. Besides the Sous Chef, who was finishing up his three year apprenticeship to Chef Orso, a normal enough occurrence in the culinary world, the newest employee had been with the company for over five years.

'Who would want to kill a Caterer?... I wonder what happened to the business.'

Kate checked the business listings. A month after Alberto Giusto's death, the Chef and Sous Chef bought the business from the family and the use of the family name for a year. Ten weeks ago the Sous Chef paid off the bank note and bought the controlling interest in the company.

Recent Society notes praised the Company's handling of the Baker and Edgefield weddings.

'Who benefited from this crime?... The Sous Chef. He ended up with a successful and profitable business with an established clientele and a stable and loyal workforce. But he bought it. …Yes he did. …I wonder how he got the money to do it. Was getting control of the business the motive? Noting the name of the Sous Chef, Mike Thomas, Kate put the folder in the' keep zone' and started looking at another folder.

As the morning wore on toward noon Detective Beckett watched the elevator with increasing anxiety. Captain Gates had not returned yet and the suspense was killing her. Eventually the Captain exited the elevator and headed toward the Bull Pen. "This is for Castle," Captain Gates said as she handed Kate a Police Consultant Credential. "For the next couple of days he's going to need it to get into the spaces he needs to." Kate looked from the badge back to the Captain.

"It's okay Detective," continued the Captain as she shifted her stance so that she could also address Ryan and Esposito. "Treat this as Confidential. The Chief has established a Task Force under Major Crimes to find a solution to the early morning bank robberies before it becomes an epidemic. They've asked Castle to be a consultant. He agreed, after he made it clear that he is not a hired gun," said the Captain with a knowing look at Detective Beckett.

"Don't worry Kate, the closest Castle will come to a tactical situation is the inside of a command vehicle with a personal bodyguard. Deputy Chief Waters promised me that. "

At Plaza One

"Mr. Castle," said Captain Gates after Castle had climbed the steps from the street to the Lobby level of the Plaza.

"Captain, how is Kate handling the ah…"

"This way," said Captain Gates as she walked around the Security Station and toward the elevators"….Attention?"

"I was thinking abuse," said Castle as he hurried to catch up with the Captain.

"She's Beckett. Hit the button for the top floor please."

"Captain if there's anything I can do."

"I heard that you tried and they won't listen. Give Beckett all the support you can."

"Captain!"

"I know that's like asking the sun to rise in the east. It's going to happen. Just do it okay?

"Yes Sir." Castle followed the Captain out of the elevator through the double doors and toward the large conference room that was between the Chief's and Chief of Detectives offices. "Sergeant Milo," said Captain Gates addressing the biggest man Castle had ever seen in his life. "Tell the boss Mr. Castle is here."

Sergeant Milo knocked on the door, paused for a second, entered and closed the door behind him. A moment later he returned "Come in Sir, you to Captain Gates."

"Come on in Castle. We'll get through introductions in a moment. Victoria grab any seat," said the Chief of Police.

"Sir," said Inspector Grier. "Her people aren't part of this operation."

"Castle's one of hers Tom and I value her opinion."

"Mr. Castle I'm Deputy Chief James Waters, Jim. This is my operation and I must insist that you reveal nothing about this operation to anyone not directly connected with it. Is that clear?"

"Sir, honesty compels me to say I will probably share what I hear here with my wife."

"I think we can trust Detective Beckett, Jim," said the Chief. "Castle just remind her that this is sensitive information."

"She is a better secret keeper than I am."

"Good, how is she?"  
"She's fully recovered from the warehouse, Thank God. But I don't think she likes this stuff," replied Castle with a nod toward the muted TV screen.

"None of us do," said the Chief of Detectives.

"Good job yesterday," added Inspector Grier. "Did you really sign a contract with the Corps for two dollars a day?"  
"The bad guys made a mistake. If they hadn't stalked us I don't think we would have caught them. Yeah I had to sign a contract. It was a lawyer work product thing. I really don't understand. I guess if I'm under contract, everything that I discover as part of the investigation becomes privileged, and the only reason why I took it was the story didn't feel right."

"We would have gotten them Mr. Castle," added Gates. "The name from the Explorer would have led us to one of them and from there…."

"Speaking of rates," said Deputy Chief Waters. "What's yours so that I can budget for it?"

"You don't pay me. It's more like barter. In exchange for the 'Privilege' of shadowing Detective Beckett I get to use the fictionized events in my novels. My goal is to portray New York City and the NYPD in a favorable light. I'm an author nothing more. You know you guys still haven't told me why I'm here."

"Mr. Castle the morning bank robberies have gotten out of hand. We need to find a way to stop them before copy cats come out of the woodwork and we have an epidemic on our hands. You are an author, and a good one. But people have also told me that you have a unique perspective on problems of this nature and that you are also one of the best analysts around. I would like to hire you to provide your expertise. What do you say?"

"Chief Waters I'm not a hired gun. I do what I do because I want to and I think I make a difference. … I'll do it. But no contract, I don't want to set a precedent and I want it clearly understood that this is a one-time thing. "

"I can't promise that Mr. Castle," said the Chief of Police." What I can promise is that no one will contact you without my express permission and if they do, the need will be great."

"I can accept that, Sir."

"Mr. Castle, do you have a Police Credential?

"No, it's never came up."

All eyes went to Captain Gates. "I'll have one made today. Detective Beckett can give it to him tonight."

"Good," said the Chief. "I had two selfish reasons for holding this meeting here today. One is that I want to emphasize the importance of the task this task force has been charged to solve. Right now the business community is concerned that we can't protect them. We need to change that perception. The second one is personal. I'm ashamed to admit that I do not know all of you, but coming here today I've gotten to meet you. And as Chief Waters reports progress I WILL be able to put a face to a name and that is important to me. Chief Waters, take charge of your Team and solve this quickly please."

The Team spaces were three floors below the Chiefs and were quite large. They were window spaces and on the north side of the build. The view from the windows was good but not spectacular. Castle was surprised that he had an assigned desk and a laptop with a NYPD login. In the past he had just used Ryan's or Kate's login, but now he had his own. After sitting for a moment, Castle got up and headed toward the task forces equivalent of a murder board that was next to a huge data wall. He was soon joined by other members of the Task.

"Mr. Castle I'm Ringo, Detective Ringo Davis out of the 54th" said a medium height fireplug of Police Officer with thinning hair.

"I'm Castle. Ringo?"

"What can I say? My Mom was a fan."

"Music or westerns?"

"Westerns?"

"Yeah, Ringo Bones, Johnny Ringo, Jacob 'Ringo' Jones."

"Music," laughed Ringo.

"I'm Alex, Detective Alex Holm out of the 68th," said a blond haired, blue-eyed present day Viking. "I'm a fan Castle. Let's leave it at that."

"Thanks. Different precincts? Does that mean the robberies occurred in two different precincts?"

"Three precincts actually. Hi I'm Detective Mike Williams out of the 57th." Mike was in his late forties and easily the most senior member of the Team. The middle age spread had almost caught up to him. It was easy to see that at one time Mike had been an athlete but time and the job were starting to take their toll.

"I take it you guys were the lead the Detectives for the cases in your precincts?"

"Yes, Hi. I'm Lieutenant Marian Kellogg out of Major Crimes, and in here Marian works. Marian was a medium height, attractive black haired woman in her late thirties with a touch of gray at her temples. "I'm kind of the local IT rep. Those guys' response time is eons. If you have a problem, talk to me."

"Thanks. I will."

"Castle. I've never met an analyst. What does an analyst do?"

"I'm not an analyst. I'm an author. I think in terms of stories. In a Homicide I try to understand the victim's story and from there I can usually get to the killer's story."

"How's that work?"

"We just talk through it. The questions we ask normally force us to search for a piece of information to support or refute an idea. So here I'm going to try understand the bank robber's story. So who can start the story from the beginning?"

"That would be me," said Ringo. "Somehow the robbers figured out that the bank vault opens about the same time as the first employee shows up. The employees need to prep their drawers and the cash load outs for the businesses they support. The robbers would wait in the parking lot in a vehicle. Always a white panel truck with a name of a local business on the side. When an employee was nearing the door, they would rush him and bull rush him into the bank. Zip tie the employees present. Bag them in pillow cases and proceed to empty the vault. On their way out they trashed and zeroed out the video surveillance system. "

"Anybody hurt?"

"No just bumps and bruises."

"The robbers say anything?"

"On two occasions," said "Alex, "the hostages thought they heard 'Chase' or 'Jase '. The Team showed pretty good discipline."

"Any other forensics?"

"Just some heavy duty green canvas fibers."

"That makes think of a military kit bag, or one of the old style duffle bags," said Castle.

"Me too," said Mike. "Enough, to be distinctive but too common to be of any use."

"How many robberies have occurred?"

"Seven."

"Seven! I'm been in a cave so to speak finishing up on my newest book. I can see why the Chiefs need this stopped. Anything special about the bank? Have the robbers concentrated on one particular company?"

"No, Bank of New York, Chase, JP Morgan, you name it if it has cash, they've robbed it."

"Time frame?"

"In bunches."

"So they robbed the banks when they need the money to go shopping or pay a bill," said Castle sarcastically. He watched with amusement when Marian opened a window on the data wall and typed in 'Cash Purchases' into a window.

"Another thing you might want to add in there is magnetic sign companies. I'm betting that for each robbery there was a different company name on the truck. "

"I get it," said Mike. "That is a real working truck and they needed a way to cover the real name. If you are going to have one sign made you might as well make several, spread the confusion."

"Got it," said Marian.

"Traffic cams help?"

"Not really we know it's a white Ford panel truck. Only like a zillion in service in the local area. But now we know it's tied to a business we can narrow the search to a zillion minus one. Marian?"

"Added it too."

"Let me guess the traffic video showed that the license plates were weathered with mud. But you were able to extract a plate number only to find it was stolen."

"Got it in one," said Ringo. "We checked for reports of stolen plates, but nothing popped out. We also got some partial faces. Nothing really to work on."

"I'm not surprised," said Castle. "They probably went plate shopping on the morning of the heist. Probably on their way to it in fact. There still has to be something about the bank that made them select it. Marian, could you display the bank and the surrounding road net, say out to a mile."

"There you are Castle. What are you looking for?"

"Access," said Mike instantly.

"And they got it," said Alex. The map showed the bank driveway connecting to a service road that paralleled a main north south road. A quarter mile later the service road tied into the main road. A quarter mile to the south was a main east-west road. A hundred yards beyond that was the entrance to a Parkway.

"On a normal day no more than eight minutes from door to Parkway," said Mike with a touch of admiration.

"Response time? Ringo?"

"No better than seventeen minutes, maybe longer."

"Does anyone know how long it took them to clean out the bank?"

"Around twenty to twenty-five," said Alex.

"So even if an alarm was tripped, if they had a way to listen in to dispatch, they could still clean out a major portion of the bank and be hidden in normal traffic before help arrived? I'd say that was the reason they chose this bank. How about bank number two?"

The road nets were similar for all of the banks involved, as was the response times. "The road nets make sense," said Castle, "The bank wants to be accessible to the public. Marian could you do me a favor and put all of the locations of the robberies on the map….. Now could you add the operational boundaries of the precincts?"

"Son of a bitch," said the Inspector who had joined the group.

"Inspector, there is a question I don't want to ask but…"

"The precinct boundaries are public knowledge Castle."

"Good. Well… You know what I mean. Marian could you display a list of the banks that are let's say within a mile of the operational boundaries of the precincts."

"Sure, then we check for access. "

"And response time. Those banks located on the edge, with readily access and let's say fifteen minute response times are the ones at risk from this crew."

When they broke for a late lunch they had identified twenty nine banks at risk. "Mike how long do you think it would take a unit to drive a route to put eyes on every target?"

"Thirty five to forty minutes. Why? They are in three precincts."

"Too long. I figure we have a thirty minute window of observation. They have to get to bank, wait for an employee, and rob the bank and leave. If my math is correct that is around thirty minutes. If we could eyeball all of them…."

"….then there is a chance of catching them," said the Inspector.

"I was also thinking of just one unit. You know have the precincts share the pain of having to supply a unit. One day one precinct the next…."

"I could sell that," said the Deputy Chief. "It satisfies the politicos and doesn't cost that much. That's still not a long term solution."

"Yes Sir it's not. You could tell the banks it's an interim condition until a final, more permanent solution can be found. I got an idea for that too. The banks are going to have to spend some money and change their procedures but I think it will work. Who do I talk to about visiting the banks?"

"I can get you downtown tomorrow afternoon Mr. Castle," said Deputy Chief Waters.

"I don't want to go there Sir. At least not yet. Where I think I need to go is to each of the banks that were robbed. I want to talk to the people. Also I want a representative of the security company there. They may have some ideas that are simpler than mine. If the idea is good those people will sell it for us."

"Just out of curiosity Castle, what's your idea" asked Mike?

"A door bell and a remote control door, you know like they have at most of the apartments in the City. It may not work at some places. That's why I need to see all of the places and have one of the security company's engineers there. If we can define the problem I'm sure they can come up with a solution. "

"I'll take care of it Castle," said Marian.

"A door bell and a remote control door," mumbled the Deputy Chief on his way to his office. "Can it be that simple?"

For the rest of the afternoon Marian scheduled the visits, Mike, Alex, and Ringo planned a route and Castle read the reports.

At the Loft

"Castle," yelled Kate as soon as she entered the Loft. She wasn't surprised when there was no answer. After sorting the mail, she dropped Castle's off in his office, along with his newly minted Police Credential. 'He's asked for one of these for years,' thought Kate. 'I wonder why they decided to give him one now? Must be because of the task force thing, she decided. 'He's going to be impossible.' Kate left the mail in its normal location and looked around the now familiar office of her husband. She minutely adjusted the picture of her that Castle kept on his desk. She often wondered why of all the pictures of her he had, why he liked this one. Thinking warm thoughts, Kate headed into the bedroom to stow her gear and change into house clothes.

"You don't have to on my account, "said a familiar voice as Kate started to slip a NYPD sweat shirt over her head. "You wish," she replied as she freed her hair from the confines of the shirt. "How was your first day as part of the bank robbery task force?"

"You know they swore me to secrecy, but I told them I would probably tell you everything."

"Smart man."

After Castle had hung up his jacket and taken off his shoes he walked into the living room and saw Kate looking at the city through the window. He watched her reflected face light up as he approached. She leaned into him as he hugged her from behind. 'Smart man' Kate thought for another entirely different reason.

"As I said they swore me to secrecy."

"But you said you told them that you would tell me."

"Yeah, I told them you would sex it out of me."

"What" Kate exclaimed as she turned in Castle's arms to face him?

"Yeah during sex you would ask me questions and I would answer. I'm pretty sure I'm vulnerable to that form of interrogation. "

"Liar," Kate laughed as she lightly punched Castle in the chest. "You didn't tell them that." She gently reached up and pulled Castle's head down for a kiss. "And who's leaning the Task Force," asked Kate after they finished with the kiss. "Deputy Chief Waters. See what did I tell you."

They both laughed. When they heard Kate's stomach gurgle, Castle said "I'm kind of hungry too. Have I told you I think I'm vulnerable to questioning during dinner?" Together they went to the kitchen to answer the age old question of what's for dinner.

Castle had just poured the rest of the barbeque sauce over the pork chops and closed the oven door when Kate's phone went off. "Detective Beckett,…Hi Amy…Yeah I think my slug of a husband had a real good reason for turning his phone off today. …He's right here I'm going to put you on speaker."

"Hey Amy," said Castle. "How goes the war with Black Swan?"

"The wicked witch wants to do a book launch party the end of the week."

"That's fast," said Castle.

"Yeah, apparently you hit the printers at an ideal time. But I told her that she could make all of the plans she wants. You would not be there without a contract."

"How did she react to that," asked Kate.

"She asked when the signed papers would be back in her office, I told her that I had shredded the papers and they were lying at the bottom of my bird cage,"

"I didn't know you had a bird."

"I don't but it sounded nice. Anyway she was furious. … Boss if you want to jump ship I can put you with the same house that handles Patterson. Dave Hanson the VP…"

"I know Dave. He has joined us at poker night a couple of times."

"He called to check on a rumor. I told him you were pissed, but had been with Black Swan forever and were still hoping to do a deal. He emailed over a sample contract. Five book deal, ten month per book schedule, a little bit more upfront money and a residual package that is, in my opinion, better than Black Swan's. I've already forwarded the email to you. Say the word and we can be under contract tomorrow."

"Thanks Amy. I'll look at it. Any word from Gina?"

"No, but I did get a call from Swan's in house counsel. We talked about James's proposition. So Gina has talked to somebody."

"Thanks Amy," said Castle. "You're right I do fell some loyalty to Black Swan. If they come around fine if not we will go with the other house. Is there an expiration date on the offer?"

"Not really, he said good talent was hard to find. He could wait until the end of the week to hear that you were interested. If we do stay with Black Swan, I'm definitely going to push for the residual package that Dave emailed. "

"Okay, I'll read over the package and give you a decision by the end of the week."

Over dinner, Castle brought Kate up to speed on the activities of the Task Force. She liked the patrol idea, but was skeptical of the doorbell and buzzer approach. After dinner and the completion of the necessary domestic chores, Castle retreated to his office and Kate to her e-reader and the TV. Kate wasn't surprised when forty-five minutes later Castle joined her in the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Thanks for the badge. Captain Gates said you would drop it off."

"They must have used an old DMV photo. Did you read the package that Amy sent?"

"Looks great. There was only one other remotely interesting email. It was about moon colony futures."

Moon colony futures? You didn't buy any did you?"

"No but the story was great!"

Kate watched Castle pick up the remote and start searching for something to watch on the TV. Turning off her e-reader she moved over the couch, rescued the remote from his hand and switched to a music channel. "You know I'm going to have to verify everything you told me over dinner."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Kate leaned in and gave Castle a long and lingering kiss. "Who runs the Task Force?" Castle responded by kissing Kate back. Kate didn't object when Castle started to pull her sweatshirt over her head. "Castle" she squeaked when he stopped with her arms bound together over her head and the shirt still covering her eyes. For the next several minutes she endured the sweet torture of not knowing where the next kiss or gentle caress would fall. She leaned forward when she felt Castles hands go behind her, and sighed when he loosened her bra strap. Castle had just finished helping Kate out of her sweat shirt when Kate's telephone rang. It was the precinct. "Detective Beckett, Yeah…OK… Got it. We'll be right there. We got a case Castle, unless of course the task force selectee is too busy to work for a living."

Kate had tried to make a joke, but as soon as she the words she knew it had come out wrong. She saw the anger and hurt in his eyes. She knew that she put too much sarcasm in her speech. Then she understood. Castle was feeling guilty about meaning a member of the task force and Kate wasn't.

Castle turned his head to avoid eye contact, "I'll come only if Detective Beckett thinks I can be of service."

Gently she reached out and grabbed Castle's face in her hands. "Babe, Detective Beckett ALWAYS wants her partner by her side for every minute of every case. She knows he has other work to do and when he's gone she misses him. We were met to be together. I'm a good cop. But when you are with me I'm a great cop. …..Babe?" Kate was gratified when the hurt drained away and the eyes looking back at her were the eyes of the man see loved.

"Then you better get dressed. If you show up at a crime scene dressed like this it would cause quite a ruckus."  
"You mind" asked Kate as she turned her back to Castle so that he could refasten her bra?

As they were driving to the crime scene Kate had an inspiration. "Castle how good is the Task Force?"

"People seem top notch. Why?"

"Care to bet on who solves the case first?"

"What type of bet?"

"A personal services bet. You know if I win you do something for me, and if you win I do something for you, nothing outrageous or embarrassing, but something personal."

"Like breakfast in bed?"

"That is not what I'm thinking, but something like that yeah."

"So the bet is the Task Force captures the bank robbers before you capture the killer?"

"Yes," said Kate.

'Trust Kate,' thought Castle. "Deal" he said.

"Deal," echoed Kate.

At the Crime scene

As Detective Beckett and Castle walked up the steps to the porch of the well-kept two-story on Maple Avenue in Turtle Bay they heard someone in obvious distress at the side of the house. "Go ahead partner let it out. …It's okay…. At least you didn't contaminate the crime scene… you'll be okay.

As they entered the house they were intercepted by Sergeant McMillian. "Detective Beckett, Castle this is as rough as a one as I've seen in a while."

"What have we got" asked Beckett quietly?

"We have the Nelsons, a family of four Thomas, Sally, 10 year old Becky, and five year old Tom Jr. all dead. The children are in their bedrooms upstairs. The children were shot at close range with a nine millimeter. I'm sure Dr. Parish will want to pull the slug to be sure," he said with a grim smile. The parents are in the master bedroom downstairs. The circumstances of the parent's deaths are …ah…. Brutal."

"Who discovered this?"

"Officers Reed and Davis, they're outside."

Kate nodded her understanding," who alerted them?"

"Concerned neighbors, they live across the street. Becky's best friend pestered her mother, she called no response. She walked over and said the door was locked. She called us. Reed and Davis responded looked through the master bedroom window saw the….and called it."

"Next of kin?"

"Brothers and sisters on both sides. I have the wife's parents in the living room. Do not let them go up the stairs or into the master bedroom Detective."

Kate nodded her acceptance of the Sergeant's judgment. "Castle I want you to walk through down here. I need to get your sense of the family before you come to the crime scene. We can look at the same thing and see different things. I need your people perspective. Sergeant, could you run interference for Castle with the next of kin?"

As Castle walked through the house his impressions were that this was the home of a loving two-pay check family that was living on the financial edge. Everything seemed too new, too modern. Their financials would be a logic starting point. The cupboards and fridge seemed well stocked. The pictures on the fridge spoke of a daughter with some art talent, and the family calendar was full but not overly crowded.

He walked upstairs to look in on the kids first. The girl's room was bright and full of stuffed animals. He was disturbed by the sight of her raised nightclothes. Hearing a sound behind him he turned, "was she?"

"No Castle," said Lanie in a soft and said voice. "She was just shot. Take a deep breath before you go into the master bedroom," she warned.

T-Rex, Optimus Prime and a baseball glove dominated the boy's room. 'Two normal happy kids' thought Castle as he went downstairs.

The look in Kate's eyes as he approached the door to the master bedroom scared Castle. "Laine can't give us a time of death until she gets them in the lab," Kate told Sargent McMillian.

"Yesterday evening after dinner and before breakfast," offered Castle. "Opened mail in the living room, evening paper by the chair, dinner dishes in the dish washer but no breakfast dishes in the sink."

"Okay," said the Sargent, "Detective we will have the canvassing officers ask if anyone saw anything last night."

When Castle entered the master bedroom he almost gagged at the sight and smell of blood. Both of the victims had been covered with a sheet to preserve their dignity. Even covered by the sheets it was clear that the woman had been tied to the bed and the man tied in a chair and forced to watch. When Castle pulled back the sheet on the woman he almost lost it. It was clear the the woman had been sexually assaulted and tortured. When Castle removed the sheet from the man he was stunned. He two had been tortured. He also had been mutilated. Dropping the sheet back into place he rushed through the house and outside. Kate eventually found him sitting on the steps drinking a bottle of water from the cache they kept in the cruiser.

"Castle" whispered Beckett?

"I'm okay, just… Revenge Kate, Revenge with a capital R."

"Yeah, let's go home. I've got everything I need here. We can build the murder board and start digging tomorrow."

"Kate," said Castle after they had gotten home. "I don't care about the bet. I'm going to help you as much as I can to catch these guys."

"I'm not going to complain," Kate replied in a soft voice.

"Concentrate on the victim's story. Look beyond the normal. I'll come to the precinct after the Task Force okay? And watch yourself when you go into the field. Promise me that?"

"I promise," Kate replied softly once more.

"I need a shower."

Kate's eyes widened when she heard Castle's last remark. From experience she knew that Castle normally showered in the morning or after exercise. For him to shower in the evening was a complete break in habit. "Want some company?"

When Castle didn't respond Kate stowed her gear, slipped off her clothes and joined him anyway. It only took ten seconds for Kate to realize that something was bothering Castle and this was going to be 'just' a shower. After the washing had been done and both were enjoying the warm water Kate leaned back into Castle and asked "Castle?"

When she got no answer so turned around to face him. His arms went around her waist and Kate found herself pulled into a fierce hug. "My worst nightmare," said Castle. "My worst nightmare is being helpless when you are in trouble, and he had to watch. I don't think I can take that."

Kate nodded her understanding. "Mine, "said Kate as she closed her eyes and laid her head on Castle's chest, "is having to watch you bleed out after you have taken a bullet that was meant for me." As the water continued to cascade over them in silence, Kate knew that her nightmare was the one most likely to occur, and she WAS NOT going to let it happen.

**Chapter 9 The Bet**

Day one of the bet.

"I'll drop you," said Kate.

"That's okay, I can cab it."

"I'll drop you, it is official business," said Kate in a tone Castle knew not to argue with.

"Castle be careful," implored Kate as she stopped to let Castle out in front of the Plaza.

"I'd ask you not to worry, "replied Castle, "but I know that isn't going to happen. It would be like you asking me not to worry."

"I know."

"Look I've been a hostage in a bank robbery once before. It turned out okay. … I especially liked the part where a certain Detective play acted as an EMT and I will always treasure the smile I got when she cut me loose."

"I thought I lost you… and Martha when I heard the explosion."

"I…"

"Castle?"

"I will,…you?"

"I will."

"I'll meet you at the 12th after I'm done here okay?"

"Babe?"

"I love you too," with that Castle opened the car door and bounded up the steps and into the Plaza.

Castle was surprised that the Task Forces spaces were relatively empty. "The 'Three Musketeers' aka Ringo, Alex, and Mike are actually driving one of the routes they worked out yesterday," said Marian. "They will try several of them this morning and this afternoon they will hit the banks for the information you guys worked out. You know the make and model of the cars they expect in the lot. Who's got the opening shift? You know the 'Sick kid' code you came up with was genius."

"Really?"

"Yeah, your single car patrol idea makes sense as an interim step, and pretending to be a Vice Principal and calling to ask about a sick kid won't attract attention at all. Now if we can convince the banks to invest in the safety of their people then we can declare success."

"I thought catching them was success?"

"That would be a success sure, but having the banks improve their security so these types of robberies can't occur is the ultimate success. That's what we have to do today. We have appointment s with four of the banks today and the remaining three tomorrow."

"Security companies?"

"They will be there," Marian confirmed. "We need to leave in about ten. …You know they must have used an old DMV photo for that Credential."

"I don't see it," said Castle. "But Kate said the same thing. Deputy Chief and the Inspector?"

"There out selling the patrol idea to the precinct Captains. They already have the go ahead from the Chief but,.."

"Local buy in always has a better chance of success. "

All of Castles' preconceived notions died when they visited the first bank. The simplicity of the entry procedures and the lack of preventive measures were striking. Basically the manager unlocked the door when she arrived and the last one of the set-up crew relocked it until they were ready to open for business. Anytime in between the doors were wide open, and the robbers had taken advantage of that fact.

"Detective Kellogg this bank simply cannot afford to install costly security devices," said Bank Manager Debra Karr. "I expect the NYPD to hold up their end in providing security for honest businesses. I don't understand why you just can't park a vehicle in our parking lot until we are ready for business. "

Castle held his tongue in check, as Detective Kellogg took the heat and lead the low key offensive. "What we HAVE implemented," she began, "is a targeted patrol. We have analyzed the MO of the bank robbery team and have determined that there are twenty-seven banks at risk in this small area of Manhattan alone. Parking cruisers at banks would leave wide areas of the precincts uncovered. What we have implanted is a patrolling scheme that will detect an event at a bank, but will not prevent it. Officers Davis, Williams, and Holm will be contacting you with details on this works."

"What we hope to do," said Castle, "is work with you to find a solution that prevents robberies like this from happening. I can't imagine the robbery was good for morale, and it can't be good for employee retention." When Castle saw Debra's eyes flash and he knew he had scored. "Can we go out and see what we have to work with?"

Out in the foyer Castle took a breath to steady his nerves and clear his head. He had been hoping for an entry system like his apartment. No such luck. Looking around he noticed that this branch was one the older buildings and its design pre-dated the proliferation of drive-through amenities. Its' design incorporated a 'Callable Teller Window' in the foyer to accommodate after main hours customers, primarily other business and their nightly receipts.

"Does the 'Call Button' still work" Castle asked?

"Sure," said the security technician. "We check it quarterly. Why?"

Castle held up his hand, "and do the cameras cover the area from the button to the door?"

"Yes," replied the technician.

"Mrs. Karr, the manager has the key so I assume he or she arrives first. Yes?...Good and the others?"

"A couple of minutes later, why are you asking these things?"

Castle saw Marian look at the 'Call Button', the camera and the door and nod her head. "Simple, maybe a little annoying but effective. Go ahead Castle."

"Mrs. Karr I think you need to implement a controlled entry opening procedure for your bank. The cost will be one or two keyless deadbolt locks installed on the interior doors….. It works like this. The manager unlocks the doors and walks in like normal. When he closes the interior doors, he throws the deadbolts. The doors are locked and can't be opened by a key. When the next employee arrives they press the call button. From the camera, the manager will know that there are no unwanted guests and can come around and unlock the door..."

"And the process is repeated until the last person arrives and you lock the doors like you normally do," added Marian. "The cameras provide a positive look before you go to the door

"If there are unwanted guests the manager can stay hidden and press the silent alarm. You are right Mr. Castle it will be a little annoying, but something like what happened could never happen again."

For a split second Castle had a vision of Kate with a gun pointed at her head on one side of the door and he on the other. He wondered if there was any condition in which he would not unlock the door.

The other three appointments were carbon copies of the first, Detective Kellogg taking the initial heat, explaining the magnitude of the problem, and talking about the patrol providing detection not prevention. Together they also found an implementable solution, some more elegant than others, but viable assured solutions all the same. In all cases the bank manager said they would have the fixes in places in two weeks or less.

On the drive back to the Plaza Marian beamed, "This is just what the Deputy Chief wants. The NYPD worked to understand the method of the crime, put together an interim fix and worked with the community for a more permanent solution. If tomorrow is like today we can get to an endgame real quick. Later this week we can host a press release. In the press release we can say that the patrol will last a month and that the banks are implementing positive steps to prevent these types of robberies. The fixes will be in place before we terminate the patrol. All-in-all a very successful and SHORT Task Force."

"Yeah," said Castle distractedly.

Marian glanced sideways at her companion. "A personal question Castle?...I saw you on the news last night. At the crime scene. You looked like death….."

"The crime scene forced me to confront my worst nightmare. The husband had to watch his wife…."

"Sorry," she said in a soft voice. "Does Beckett know?"

"Yeah, we talked."  
"Good. From what I've heard you two are the best the Department has. Are you going to help her on her case?"

"As much as I can."

"In a couple of days we may be able to release you."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Good, let's go in and tell the Boss the good news on how the banks are cooperating."

"It's going to work Castle," said Ringo, as Castle sat down at his desk. "Drive time is somewhere between twenty-eight and thirty-three minutes depending on the lights at Springs and Wayne and Jefferson and Waynedale.

"Good," said Inspector Grier, "You guys," he continued addressing Ringo, Mike and Alex, "get to go back to your precincts tomorrow and teach the route to a unit."

"We got approval" asked Alex?

"Yeah," replied the Deputy Chief, "let's start the wrap-up…. We have tentative approval for three months' worth of patrols. We teach tomorrow, compile all of the early morning contact and expected event information and after that the precincts have it. That takes care of detection... How did the banks respond?"

"We got agreement from the four banks we talked to today Sir," said Lieutenant Kellogg. "They will initiate some upgrades. They should have everything in place within two weeks."

"That's good, tomorrow?"

"Don't see a problem Sir. The real challenge will be the banks that have not been hit."

"Why don't we invite them in to talk? We can show them why they are vulnerable, and point out what the other banks are doing to prevent this type of robbery," said Castle. "Peer pressure is a bear. After that we take the show downtown to the corporate offices where even more peer pressure can be applied. "

"Lieutenant," said the Deputy Chief "Getting the word out to the twenty-nine at risk and the rest of the banking community is your show. Get some help from the media guru's for style. We know the content. Inspector …"

"Top cover and align the heavy hitters if she needs them Sir."  
"Right. That takes care of prevention. How about tracking these guys down. Stolen license Plates?"

"Dead end Sir. The first clue that some of the folks had that their tags were gone was when they got pulled over."

"Okay, magnetic signs."

"Potentially something Sir. Ten signs were bought in early spring from a store in Greenwich Village. They were paid for in cash. The clerk remembers because she thought it was strange that someone would buy ten signs for ten different companies. She said that the buyer said they were prizes for a church raffle. We posted the store video in the library, and extracted a picture for the board and placed it in the pictures file."

The store picture didn't show anything particular useful. It showed a medium height dark haired woman in a winter clothes, hat scarf and dark glasses.

"The picture doesn't help much. It just shows us that a woman is part of the crew. We posted the names of the companies in the patrol folder. Hopefully the patrol will be able to use the names to help qualify the target."

"Okay, vehicle type?"

"Drowning in a sea of information Sir. We have narrowed our search to a twenty-five mile radius and that still leaves us with over a thousand vehicles and three hundred companies. So far we have eliminated only three companies. All of their vehicles had painting in areas that could not be covered by the signs. It's going to take a while."

"Okay, in a couple of days Ringo, Alex and Mike will be able to help….Did I miss anything?... Other ideas."

"How about a pre-emptive press release" suggested the Inspector? "We put out there we have a patrol system and are working with the banks to implement changes in their opening procedures. And in some cases the changes will be in place in less than two weeks."

"Goad them to action" said the Deputy Chief? "If our theory is wrong then we look like a fool."

"Blame your consultant," said Castle matter of factly. "We need to know in any case. If we scare them off then great. If they strike within the area where we are looking then we nail them. If they strike way outside of our focus area, then that tells us something too."

"Mr. Castle the Press…"

"Are amateurs compared to literary critics."

Laughing the Deputy Chief continued, "Tom, draw it up. We'll release it if Kellogg and Castle are successful tomorrow…. Anything else?... Thanks people."

At the 12th.

Captain Gates looked up from her paperwork to the murder board in the Bull Pen and then back at her watch. It was late in the shift and Beckett was still at her desk. She had not started her end of day 'Where are we and where are we going meeting.' Beckett used the meeting as a self-assessment technique. The Captain used them to remain up to speed on the case and the rest of the house drifted in from time to time depending on the notoriety of the case to hear from the horse's mouth what was going on. Because of the brutality of this case the Bull Pen was SRO. The Captain smiled to herself. She knew she had a prime reserve seat.

Gates checked her watch again. It was past time. As she got up and headed out of her office toward the murder board she saw Beckett's head snap up and look toward the elevator. The briefest of smiles on Beckett's face told the Captain everything she needed to know. Detective Beckett had been waiting for Castle.

Kate watched Castle's eyes flash when she heard Esposito ask "Slumming Castle?" She also saw them soften with gratitude when Captain Gates said, "Even if he is, glad you could join us Mr. Castle."

"Thank you Sir." Castle took a moment to scan the murder board and then took his normal position beside the murder board as unofficial master of ceremonies. "Sea Lion Gang?"

"Yeah," started Esposito with a touch of pride. "Canvassing came up with a witness of sorts. A next door neighbor remembered hearing shouting after the news. She saw four men get into a four door sedan and drive off. She was able to give us an artist sketch and a partial license plate number."

"We almost threw out her story," picked up Ryan, "when the traffic cam at the end of the street didn't pick up the car. We heard from somewhere that cars may transform into Autobots but they don't disappear. So we checked the road net."

"Sure enough there is an alley. On our twenty-first traffic cam pull we spotted the car," added Esposito.

"Yeah, Tom and Dave in the video review room were about ready to kill us," said Ryan. "And they came through with flying colors. The car is registered to one Tomas Aguera. He is a mid-level shot caller for the Sea Lions. "

"We ran the sketch through gangs," said Esposito. "They identified him as Carlos Ortega. A solider in the Lions. He reports to Aguera."

"Can you connect the dots on the route," asked the Captain.

"Yeah. We had a unit drive the route and stop and collect more video. As I said Tom and Dave are about ready to kill us. But we can track the car from the witness to this light."

"You have done well my Padawans."

"A Star Wars quote? Is that best you got" laughed Esposito?

"Okay," conceded Castle. "So we had a Sea Lions shot caller and some of his soldiers visit the victim. Do we know why?"

"Not yet," said Detective Beckett. "But we now have a focus point."

"Okay," said Castle conceding the point. "Finances?"

"Clean as far as we can tell," said Ryan. "A two paycheck family. He works as a regional manager for one of the mega-department store chains for serious money. She works as a medical records specialist for one of the local health combines. They only have five or so years left on their house and were putting money away in college funds for the kids."

"She started last year. Money is fair and her hours let her see her kids off to school and be home for them when they get out," added Kate. "As far as I could tell she is well liked by her neighbors and her co-workers think she is fantastic. She is active in her church and her kids are doing well at school. … And she was pregnant." She watched Castle. She saw him blench, look down, swallow hard and then recover. "So whatever happened to this family I don't think Mrs. Nelson participated it."

"Credit cards?"

"Clean."

"We sure Mr. Nelson doesn't have a pocket account in another bank?"

"Where would we look" asked Ryan?

"We sure all of his money goes to their joint account?"

"Depositing money into automatically into another account," said Esposito. "We can check on that. Since they have an accountant do their taxes, his wife wouldn't even know. "

"What does a regional manager do" asked Castle?

"He travels between the five stories in the area plus the warehouse providing management direction and making sure the local guys adhere to the corporate polices."

"Travel?"

"Local"

"Over night?"

"Sometimes. All properly booked on the Corporate Credit Card."

"Any of the stores on the Sea Lions turf."

"One."

"Where you going Castle" asked Detective Beckett, recognizing the look on Castle's face?

"We haven't looked at Mr. Nelson yet right? …I don't think this was gang related. To me this crime was personal and of a sexual nature."

"Go on Mr. Castle," said Captain Gates.

"We need to see if Mr. Nelson has a reputation for ex-martial activity. Also I would check to see if any of the company's female employees have family members or close relatives who are members of the Sea Lions."

"Age old story," smiled Kate as she nodded. "Mr. Nelson forced himself on the wrong girl. Instead of going to the police she went to her family. They provided street justice."

"Now all you have to do is prove it," smiled Castle in an obvious reversal of roles.

At the Loft.

The ride home was done in comfortable silence. Kate could tell that Castle was tired. She also knew that the news that Mrs. Nelson had been pregnant when she died had further upset him. Then there was the Black Swan mess they were dealing with. This is a typical Castle case she mused. We have some facts, Castle spins a story and now we have a plan of attack to crack the case. Kate reached out and gently padded Castle's knee. "Thanks for coming Babe."

Castle remained silent. He reached down covered Kate's hand for a moment and gave it a gentle squeeze then let her have it back so she could drive. 'He's hurting,' thought Kate. 'I need to get his mind off of the victims before he goes down the rabbit hole.'

As they exited the garage and headed toward the front door of their building Kate had her arm firmly wrapped around Castle. In this neighborhood they were Mr. And Mrs. Castle and nobody really cared that she was a cop. 'Maybe someday we will be just Mr. and Mrs. Castle,' thought Kate. Laughing to herself, she shook her head, 'Not going to happen.' Noticing a face in the window of the taxi as it pulled by them and was slowing to a stop in front of the Loft; Kate disengaged and went hurrying after it.

Normally a man would be pissed if his girl broke contact and went running after another man, thought Castle. This time I can forgive her. He too had seen the face. It was Kate's Dad.

"Dad" Kate shirked as she enveloped her Dad in a fierce bear hug.

"Katie," Jim responded, returning the hug just as passionately.

"What a surprise. You are here for dinner right," Kate said as she drew back a bit to look at the other man who had gotten out of the cab.

"I need to make an introduction and listen in on the conversation, but I am most definitely staying for dinner."

"Rick, Katie, this is Mr. Raymond Morris. He is the Corporate Counsel for Black Swan. We do need to talk."

Kate and Rick looked eyes, shrugged and started to laugh when they realized that they had effectively mirrored each other's movements. "Come on up then," said Castle.

"Dad," chided Kate as she locked arms with her Father. "You don't need an excuse to come over, but I'm glad you did."

"Let me stow my weapon and I'll join you," said Kate as they entered the Loft.

"Mr. Morris, let me take your coat. Can I get you something to drink? Jim, help yourself you know your way around the place. Mr. Morris was a touch over six feet and appeared to be in pretty good shape for someone in his early fifties. His balding head and clear green eyes gave him an aura of knowledge. In a couple of minutes they were all seated at the counter with glasses of ice tea in front of them.

"Mr. Morris is the Chief Corporate Attorney for Black Swan Publishing," said Jim. "We do some of their local work. Ray and I go back at least ten years. When he called this afternoon and said he needed a favor I was only too glad to oblige. He said he needed to meet with you and he preferred it to be private. I suggested we meet tonight here. This way I have an excuse to see my Katie and stay for dinner."

"Dad!" exclaimed Kate. "You know the door is always open. Now that football season's started, you are going to be joining us on Sunday's right?"

"Sure, now that the Yankees are officially out of it. I can take it that they aren't going to the post season, but why did they have to lose to the Red Sox?"

"As Mr. Beckett said I am the Chief Corporate Attorney for Black Swan Publishing. The matter we need to discuss is delicate. Could we go someplace more private?"

"Look Mr. Morris."

"I'm Ray, Castle just Ray."

"Okay Ray. There are only two reasons why you could be here. One is the fact that Mrs. Edgerton propositioned me and the second is to negotiate a contract. Considering my agent has not called me to tell me of a new offer I'm betting we are talking about Mrs. Edgerton."

Kate watched with amusement as Mr. Morris's eyes widened and switched from Castle to her then to her Dad then back to her. "He told me the night they came back from the business dinner. Right after Amy and Gina revealed that what's his name, her husband had suggested sex for favors to them."

"Why didn't you report it" asked Ray?

"Report what?" asked Castle. "That if I agreed to the contract there would be all sorts of 'delightful fringe benefits.' We were alone so it would be my word against hers. She could just as easily say I propositioned her, or say I made it up because I was angry about the contract. No Ray, reporting it would have led to a can of worms I don't need. Besides I've already got the woman of my dreams."

Rays eyes shifted from Rick to Kate. "You're taking this calmly."

Kate held up Castle's hand, which had been holding since the conversation started, "Castle is the Captain of My Heart, and he's…"

"… Not Alone," Castle completed with a huge smile and eyes solely on Kate.

"I see," said Ray with a twinkle in his eye. "So how bad is the contract?"

''Bad, so bad in fact that my agent, Amy, shredded the contract papers."

"You are going to submit a counteroffer?"

"No," said Castle in a firm voice. "I've got a better offer from another house."

"But your books are always best sellers. Your new books go over a million copies sold in about six months…"

After an awkward silence, "You staying for dinner Ray" asked Kate?

"I…"

"Look it's no trouble," Kate continued. "We have to eat and there is no way I'm letting my Dad out of here without feeding him. So call your wife and say you will be late, or better yet ask her to join us."

"I…I accept. No need to call. This week I'm a class B bachelor. Nancy, my wife, is with Alison, my oldest daughter, they're in Colorado Springs. Alison just had her second, a boy, Raymond Edward Kennedy. Thursday afternoon I'm getting on a plane and joining them. I have to rescue my son-in-law. I really like him and I miss Nancy. So I will be delighted to join you."

"Now that settled, what are we having Castle?"

"We've got the rib-eyes, white fish, the pork roast would take too long and some salmon. Preferences?"

When no one answered "Okay steak it is, baked sweet potatoes, …."

"And your green beans and corn dish," suggested Kate. When Castle nodded Kate continued, "Ray what kind of salad would you like? Dad and are Caesar people and Castle is a Waldorf."

Two hours later, after an excellent dinner and after Mr. Morris had said his good byes, Castle was in his office and father and daughter were in the living room watching one of the last Yankees games of the season on TV. "Dad," Kate said in a quiet voice. "I saw how you reacted to Raymond talking about his grandson. I just want you to know we are going to start trying soon. I mean real soon." Kate would treasure the smile in her Dad's eyes for a long time.

Day two of the bet.

"Cab or drop" asked Castle?

"I'll drop you," said Kate as they exited the front door of the Loft. "Plans?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm heading back to the banks to talk about installing preventive equipment. I feel like a shill for a hardware store."

Kate stared to laugh, "That's your next career Castle. Home security. I can just see your web site. 'Castle secures your Fortress.' "

"I can hawk a line of 'Castle' grade home security products," Castle added between laughs. The trip downtown was filled with one liners, each one trying to outdo the other.

"Kate," said Castle as he got out of car, turned and looked back in. "Don't go to the store in the Lions area or talk to the girl, assuming you can find her, without backup."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Good, unless something happens, I will be over after lunch.

"I may still be out, but you know what to do."

"Be…

"….careful. I will Babe. I've got a bet to win."

Castle wasn't surprised by the sparseness of bodies in the Task Force spaces. From yesterday's wrap-up he knew that a lot of people were going to be out and about.

"Don't get too comfortable Castle," advised Marian. "We leave in five."

"I thought our appointments were later?"

"They were, but everyone called in moved up their appointments."

"Why?"

"Success I guess. They want us to review and approve their security measures."

"I'm a writer," asserted Castile. "What do I know about security measures?"

"Enough," said the Lieutenant, "enough. Oh, your keyless deadbolts aren't going to work."

"Fire code?"

"Yes, they are going to use crash doors instead."

"Crash doors? That will work. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're a writer," teased Marian. "Come on Castle, we don't want to be late."

The mood at the banks for all three appointments was completely different than the previous day. Today the banks were bending over backwards in their hospitality and their willingness to discuss the needed upgrades to their buildings and their procedures. What was surprising and heartening was the presence of Senior VPs from all of the banks. I hope they weren't just posturing, thought Castle as they left their final appointment.

"All their implementations were simple and prevented unimpeded access," said Castle.

"Yeah, and reasonable installation times. …Lunch?"

Castle checked his watch and thought of Kate. No matter which stores she visited she would be at least an hour away. I'll just have to meet her at the precinct house.

"Sure. You have a place in mind."

"Yeah, there's a place in Hell's Kitchen I've wanted to try, it's called 'Green Tea'." Castle smiled to himself. Today he would get a cheeseburger to go alone with his Egg Drop Soup.

Castle was at his desk reading the reports on the laptop at the Task Force's spaces in the plaza. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion that his utility to the Task Force was at an end. He had provided all the angles of approach he could think of, and without further information he had nothing to contribute. He looked behind him when he felt a presence. It was Deputy Chief Waters and Inspector Grier.

"Mr. Castle," began the Deputy Chief Waters.

"Let me guess. You're firing me."

"I wouldn't put it like that," laughed the Chief. "If I was a GM of a baseball team I would say I've assigned your contract to the 12th with the option to recall you as necessary."

"I came to the same conclusion myself. … Anything I need to know?"

"We are going to make a statement to the press tonight about the patrol and the banks schedule to implement new procedures. You're right we need to know either way if your theory is correct. When the banks' have finished implementing their improvements this task force will have been successful, and you have been a critical part in convincing the banks to do it. "

"It's been a pleasure Mr. Castle," said Inspector Grier. "We WILL call you back if there is something new to look at. Continue to log in and check where we are. No one here is going to cut off your access. If you see something let us know….I was skeptical, but now I can see why Captain Gates keeps you around."

"Thanks, this has been …. Different."

At the 12th.

"How did he know?" grossed Esposito at the Team's morning sync session. "How did he know he had a couple of pocket accounts and separate charge cards?"

For a moment Beckett was amused ,"His guess was probably based upon several factors. When he walked through the Nelson's house he thought they were living on the edge because everything was too new. So he was probably thinking that one or both of the adults were of the' got it ''spend it' mentality. Then he saw the investment account and the college savings accounts for the kids and concluded that they were being funded directly for somewhere, why not his paycheck. If he could do that why not set up a fun account for himself. The money is direct deposited into his account and his wife will never know that some of the money is being diverted into his personal account He could explain any discrepancy by saying he had adjusted the amount going into the investments or to the kids college fund. ….We are just going to have to add it to the list of things that he has thought us to look for. Anything on the credit card charges?"

"Yeah," said Esposito. "Reasonably expensive dinners for two. Some small presents and flowers. They were delivered. We are working to get a name and as address."

"Great. I'm still going to try to get the employee list. The restaurant?"

"Restaurants, all of them are near the store that's on the Lion's turf," added Ryan.

"On the presents," asked Captain Gates. "Anything significant that we can follow custody?"

"Don't know Sir. Definitely on our research list," replied Esposito.

"Detective Sanders you guys on line to help us with the name matching?"

"Give us the list Detective and we'll try to match to find a match."

"Great…. Guys," said Beckett addressing Ryan and Esposito and pointing to two store locations, "you take these two stores and the warehouse. Do you think you will have time to hit any of the places where Mr. Nelson bought the gifts?"

"Don't know until we try."

"I'll try to get us the names of the people employed at this store and visit the other two stores. Give me the names of the restaurants. Castle and I will hit them after the end of shift. If they were there for dinner then we need to speak to the dinner staff."

"You're ignoring the store on the Lion's turf" asked Captain Gates?

"Yes Sir, for now. We think that the victim had an extra-marital affair with an employee who works in this store. I don't want to walk into the store blind, deaf, and dumb. We're hoping that the other store visits will give us a pattern of behavior. Comparing the employee list to relatives of the Lions could generate a target. The flower delivery could generate a second target or confirm the one we have."

"The credit card receipts due tend to support your theory. Carry on…Oh, Mr. Castle?"

"He said he would be free after lunch. I asked him to look at the target, assuming we identify one and to review anything else he thinks of."

The matching of the employee list to the Sea Lions resulted in a single hit, Cynthia Ann O'Brien. When the address for the flower delivery matched up the Detectives at the 12th knew they had uncovered the principle person.

Esposito's, Ryan's and Beckett's experiences at the stores had all been similar. Mr. Nelson had the normal assortment of corporate rivals, but no real enemies. Most of the female employees thought Mr. Nelson was handsome and 'flirty'. Several of them admitted to Kate that they had taken him up on his offer. They insisted that it was recreational sex with a fringe benefit or two thrown in, an extra day off here, Team award there. All of them insisted that they had no reason to kill Mr. Nelson. Also, they insisted Mr. Nelson broke everything off about six months ago.

Detective Beckett wasn't surprised that Ryan and Esposito hadn't made it back yet. She was delighted that Castle was there and working at the murder board. "Hey Castle," called Beckett.

"Cynthia and Thomas O'Brien, " he replied "Interesting story, I'm not through with my prep work yet."

"That's okay. I 'd ask you to wait until the Boys got back anyway." Kate hung up her coat, secured her purse, picked up hers and Castle's coffee cups and went to the break room. When she returned with full coffee cups, Kevin and Javier had returned and the room had started to fill up. 'I hadn't realized we were this big a show,' smiled Kate. 'The Captain ought to sell tickets.'

Castle took a good sized sip of his coffee, gifted Kate with a small smile then assumed his normal position by the murder board. "Before I begin, what did you guys learn?"

"No real enemies, several good friends, and he did chase skirt," said Esposito.

"Up to about six months ago," added Ryan.

"Me, too," said Kate. "I talked to a few of his partners. Recreational sex, he threw in some fringe benefits, but no lasting associations."

"Six months is as interesting number," said Castle. "Meet the O'Brien's Cynthia Ann and Thomas Edward. Detective Sanders identified Thomas as a highly regarded Enforcer in the Sea Lions origination. His mentor is the shot caller whose ride we have identified." Cynthia's DMV photo was the exception to the rule of bad photos. Hers could have been used as a head shot by any talent agency. Her dark red curly hair framed a beautiful face with intelligent seeming blue eyes. Tom's hair was lighter and his blue eyes were piercing. Kate had to admit that his rugged good looks were on a par with Castles.

"Theirs is an interesting and seemingly successful story. Their parents were killed when Tom was eighteen and Cynthia was fifteen. He petitioned the Court and got custody of his sister. "

"How did he become a Lion" asked Esposito?

"Detective Sanders," said Castle.

Nodding Detective Sanders began, "He was working one and half jobs and doing right by his sister. On their way home they were accosted by three Lions. He put them all down. Instead of seeking revenge they offered him a job. Five times the money, and the absolute guarantee that no one in the neighborhood would bother his sister as long as he remained a member in good standing. He accepted of course, and to this day HIS RECORD IS CLEAN."

"How" asked Ryan?

"He's that good," said the Detective.

"She graduated High School with honors and went to work at the store. She immediately applied for and was accepted for tuition assistance. During a normal semester she works thirty hours a week and still takes a full course load. By the way she's carrying a 3.6 out of a 4.0 system. She's studying for a double major, business and accounting. Seven months ago she entered her junior year. When she did so the Company changed her status to 'Intern" and transferred her to the front office of the story. Where she prepared the reports and presented the information to the …"

"…Regional Manager, Mr. Nelson, our victim," added Kate.

"Speculation," said Castle. "But I believe correct none the less. She's done for the day. We could go and talk with her now and wrap up the bad guys tonight."

"Not going to work Castle," said Detective Sanders. "Our information has them still sharing an apartment. "

"That would be awkward," agreed Castle.

"That leaves Plan B. We talk to her at work tomorrow morning and pick up the bad guys a little later," said Kate. "Oh Castle do you know any of these restaurants" asked Kate handing Castle a note?

"I've never head of the Eager Owl, or Jim's Rib Room, but Bellefontaine has the reputation of being a premiere beef place. I ate there once a couple of years ago and the food was great. Why?"

"Our victim and his girlfriend ate dinner at these three restaurants. We need to check with the staff to be sure, and I wanted to know which one you were buying me dinner at."

"Sometimes Mrs. Castle," Castle laughed to the amusement of all.

"Okay," Kate smiled back. "Tomorrow is probably game day. We start by talking with Cynthia. When she admits to telling her brother about Mr. Nelson we pick them up. I've already talked to ADA. She said as soon as we can confirm the link between brother and sister we could push a warrant through. So game faces tomorrow people."

"What do you call this," asked Esposito.

"I'd call it 'I failed to get my inside straight face'," added Ryan to the chuckles of all.

Captain Gates sat in her usual position and thought for at least the hundredth time that she had the best Detective Team in the city. There was no doubt that Kate lead and everybody else followed, but they followed because they were sure they were being lead. Ryan and Esposito had learned a lot and had grown immensely. They were lead Detectives in their own right, and Castle was Castle. Gates was pretty sure that tomorrow they would solve this case. "That was quite a statement the Task Force released today Mr. Castle."

"We need to know if our analysis is correct Sir. If the bad guys think we are bluffing, act and we catch them great. If they think we are serious and stand down that's also great. In any case I'm out of a job, from a Task Force perspective," laughed Castle, "unless something else happens."

At the Loft.

Kate stopped pretending to sort the mail when Castle hugged her from behind and starting nibbling on her ear. "Since you're going to win the bet anyway why don't you tell me you're going to want me to do" whispered Castle as he alternated between nibbling on her ear and kissing her neck? Kate leaned back into Castle and tilted her head to left to offer Castle easier access.

She agreed with his assessment. At all of the restaurants they learned that Mr. Nelson was a decent tipper and he and Cynthia were semi-regulars. More than one waitress noticed the age difference and one of the waitresses said that 'they were really into each other.' When Castle's hands came up to cup her breasts she sighed and leaned back even more. "You going to try to 'sex it' out of me" throated Kate as she covered one of his hands with hers and gave it an encouraging squeeze? With her other hand she reached behind her and gently grabbed Castle.

"I'm going to have fun trying," whispered Castle between kisses and nibbles. 'Good' thought Kate as she slowly spun in Castle's arm. She paused for a split-second and looked into the loving eyes of her man. Then she pushed Castle against the foyer wall and kissed him…hard. When they broke Castle backed Kate against the opposite and returned the kiss. With Kate pinned against the wall, Castle gently kissed his way down Kate's throat. He unbuttoned several buttons of Kate's blouse. Bending down he gently kissed Kate's chest near the scar. Kate reached down and gently lifted Castle's head. After gently kissing him Kate purred, "You'll never make me talk," 'Though tonight I may scream,' she thought. With his hand firmly in hers, she led them to the bedroom.

Day three Endgame.

There was an air of anticipation in the Bull Pen. The Team knew the results from yesterday's restaurant visit. They also knew Cynthia's work hours. They would be leaving soon and once they had the link between Cynthia and her brother they would pick up Tomas Aguera, Carlos Ortega, and Thomas O'Brien. They knew there was a fourth, but they had not identified him yet.

"Detective Sanders?"

"We have eyes on them already. Midmorning they usually are counting receipts from last night's takes. Give us the word that we have a valid warrant and we will pick them up. I've already got two TAC-Teams lined up to help."

"I talked to one of the ADA's yesterday. She thinks that the brother-sister connection and the fact that they are living in the same apartment is good enough. But there will be no doubt if we can get her to say that she told her brother."

All eyes zeroed in on Castle when his phone went off. "Castle….No kidding…. Which bank…No, we are getting ready to head out an talk to one of the principle people in the multiple homicide case…Yeah…Let me know what happens…. I never thought anyone could be that stupid."

"Despite the announcement yesterday afternoon, it appears our bank robbers tried to rob another bank. The roving patrol spotted them. The Officers used the sick kid code to confirm a robbery in progress and the cavalry has been called in. Right now the plan is to let them exit the bank and try to drive away."

"Good call on setting up the patrol and figuring out which banks were at risk," said Beckett with a touch of admiration. "Let's go solve our case shall we?"

The office spaces where at the rear of the building at the opposite side of the store from the entrance they choice. "The walk in from the parking lot was a piece of cake," grumbled Castle as they passed the Toy, Electronics, Hardware and Automotive sections.

"You need the exercise," teased Beckett as they pushed through the 'Authorized Personnel Only' double doors. They spotted the office up ahead on the left. Cynthia O'Brien was easy to spot. "Cynthia O'Brien? I'm Detective Beckett and this is Mr. Castle. We need to talk to you about Thomas Nelson."

Cynthia was even more beautiful in person than her DMV photo suggested. She was also obviously pregnant. "Now's not a good time Detective."

"I can appreciate that Miss O'Brien. We can either do this here or down at the precinct," said Kate. "We only need ten or so minutes. Is there a place we can talk privately?"

"We can use the Team room," said Cynthia with a tone of surrender.

"Mr. Nelson is the father of your child isn't he" accused Castle after they had settled themselves in the conference room chairs?

"Detective, does he have to be here" pleaded Cynthia?

"Castle," said Kate with a nod toward the door.

"Don't get lost on your way out," Castle replied. "I don't think a search party has a chance of finding you."

On the way out Castle bought four bottles of water and four bags of gummy bears. "I got kicked out," said Castle by way of greeting to Esposito and Ryan. "Can I interest you in some gummy bears?"

"Kicked out" smirked Esposito as he accepted a bottle of water and a package of gummy bears?

"Yeah, I think it's a sisterhood thing. One thing for sure, Cynthia is pregnant."

"With a brother with a temper, everything fits," said Ryan.

Castle's phone rang soon after the three clinked water bottles. "Castle,…Great congrats by the way…What… Okay… I'm out, Detective Beckett is questioning a principal in the case…I see… I'll log in when I get back to the precinct."

"It seems we caught a bunch of copy cats this morning," said Castle. "And the really bank robbers hit a bank in Nassau County this morning."

"Apparently the real team watched the news and the copy cats didn't," offered Ryan.

"Well at least we caught one batch," said Castle as he took a sip of water and settled back to wait for Detective Beckett.

"He is, isn't he," asked Kate after Castle had departed the Team room.

"Yeah," nodded Cynthia.

"Tell me about Tom," suggested Detective Beckett in a low conspiratorial voice.

"As soon as I started by junior year they transferred me here, into the office. It was like a dream come true. The hours were the same, but the work was a lot more exciting and I could see how my classwork was important. … Then at the first monthly sales meeting I met Mr. Nelson, Tom." Cynthia took a sip from her water bottle. "He was a dream come true. I mean he's handsome and rich and he noticed me. Me. Not just a pretty face. Me."

"What happened next?"

"I knew he was married," said Cynthia in a strong voice. "The first time was dinner from the store's deli," said Cynthia with a laugh. "We were working late to get the Quarterlies done and we ate in. He promised to make it up to me. The next week he invited me to dinner, and I was hooked…."

"More dinners?"

"Yes, then small gifts, then the first time we went to hotel. It was special. I'd never been treated that way before. I fell for him and he fell for me. He told me that he loved me and had seen a lawyer about starting divorce proceedings…. "

"What happened?"

"He couldn't keep it in his pants," said Cynthia with a tone of absolute bitterness. "He said he had to break it off because his wife was pregnant."

"How did your brother find out?"

"We share our parent's apartment. We I started to show….He forced me to tell him. Why did Tommy have to kill him?"

"When did you tell him?"

"Right after work on the night Tom died," said Cynthia with tears starting to leak from her eyes.

Kate reached into her purse and extracted a tissue and handed it to Cynthia. "What happens next?"

"We have to pick up Tommy, Tomas Aguera, and Carlos Ortega," said Kate in a soft voice.

"Ricardo Guzman is the normal fourth," said Cynthia. "If Tomas was there then Ricardo was there."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have Tom's baby. It's a boy. After that I'm going to finish school and get on with my life."

Kate walked Cynthia back to her desk and walked out to rejoin her Team.

Kate gratefully accepted the water. Checked with Detective Sanders on the whereabouts of their prime suspects, called and secured a Warrant.

Ten minutes later the Team was at the rendezvous point. Detective Sanders and Detective Beckett were going in with the front door with TAC Team One. TAC Team Two with Esposito and Ryan were going in the back door. "Castle you stay put," said Kate as she handed him his vest.

"Kate," Castle complained.

"We got him," said a familiar voice.

Detective Beckett looked and Officer Hastings and Sergeant Williamson joined the raid team.

"We'll look after the vehicles and Castle," said Sergeant Williamson.

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. 'Hastings and Williamson will keep Castle safe,' she thought

"Beckett!," Castle warned.

"I got her back Mr. Castle," said Detective Sanders.

The raid went off without a hitch.

At the 12th.

The raid and the search of the suspect's apartments turned up a small amount of drugs and over thirty handguns. 'CSU will be busy for a while,' thought Detective Beckett.

"Game plan" asked Captain Gates?

"Castle and I will tackle Thomas O'Brien," said Beckett. "Esposito and Ryan think they can turn Ricardo Guzman."

"Tomas Aguera?"

"Like interrogating a wall," said Beckett.

"Carlos Ortega?"

"Last resort," said Esposito. "He's an experienced soldier. So it is highly unlikely he will even give us the time of day."

Captain Gates had ample cause to be proud of her Detectives integration techniques. First Castle hammered and baited Thomas O'Brien and eventually Beckett broke him down. The performance of Esposito and Ryan was even better. They convinced Ricardo that this was personal business not 'Lion' business and they wouldn't support him, and the second part was the possible length of his prison term, five consecutive twenty-five to live sentences was a long time.

In the end they had Thomas O'Brien's confession, and supporting testimony from Ricardo Guzman. When CSU supplied the information that the weapon that killed the kids was found on Mr. O'Brien, the Team thought that they had the case wrapped up tightly.

The case solving celebration at the Old Haunt was louder, longer, and more joyous than normal.

At the Loft.

Once again Kate was ambushed while sorting mail and she could care less. She leaned back against Castle. "You won Castle, what would you have me do."

"I think you won Kate," said Castle. "Sure we caught some bank robbers. They were copy cats. The real bank robbers knocked off a bank in Nassau County."

Castle was competitive to a fault, and he was an honorable lout. Kate turned in his arms and faced him. "Then Mr. Castle it is my pleasure that you be the object of a full body massage given by me."

Kate was surprised by the wide range of emotions she saw playing across his face. "If you won were you going to ask for a massage?"

"Yes"  
"Why? All you have to do is ask."

"I don't want to ask," she confessed. "I want them to be special."

"Like on your birthday."

"No. Special. I absolutely love your hands on my body," Kate purred. "But I want to feel that I've earned it. I want them to be special Okay?"

Castle responded by gently kissing her. Abruptly he broke the kiss and arched his back to achieve some separation. "Have you ever given anyone a full-body massage?" When Kate shook her head no he continued. "Then I demand that you let you let me instruct you in the finer points my being my demonstration model."

"Yes please," Kate whispered. 'The best of both worlds' Kate thought as she laid her head on Castle's chest and gave him a fierce hug.

"You hungry? I didn't eat much at the Olde Haunt."

"I snack later would be nice."

"Later?"

"You know, after," Kate said looking up at Castle with the beginning of a grin.

"After," Castle repeated, and as he turned to go into the bedroom a phone rang. "They ring at the worst times," he complained.

"Well it's not mine, "Kate laughed.

Chagrinned Castle answered his phone. "Amy," he said as he switched into speaker mode. "You have the worst possible timing."

"I think I have the best possible timing," she rejoined. "What, you've been home from the Olde Haunt five maybe ten minutes. "

"Five minutes," commented Kate. "Are we that predictable?"

"No just responsible. You go, and have only a couple of drinks rehash the case with the Team then leave. Everybody has a good time. Nobody gets really drunk. Everyone feels good about how the case ended and shows up for work tomorrow ready for a new adventure."

"Okay I surrender," said Castle. "What's up?"

"Well the book launch party is in three days, on Friday night at the Plaza, and you need to plan to be there."

"I'll only go if I have a contract," Castle reaffirmed.

"As soon as you can get to my office, we can make that happen," and both Kate and Castle could just hear the pleasure in her voice.

"How did that happen" asked Kate?

"Gina had a lot to do with it I guess. Anyway she called me right before lunch to say the wicked witch and her toady of a husband were escorted from the building that morning by the CEO and the chief counsel. She said the phrase she heard was 'you don't get a severance package when you're released for moral issues.' I haven't a clue what she was talking about," laughed Amy. "It's nice when the good guys win."

"Gina also said she heard that you had an offer from another house and she had been tasked to examine it, and if possible at least met it. Do you know how she found out?"

"Yeah," said Kate. "Black Swan's chief lawyer is a friend of my Dad's and they came over for dinner a couple of nights ago. He asked us about the incident at the apartment. I thought he was going to have a heart attack when Castle told him he wasn't going to counter-offer because he already had a good offer from another house."

"Well it worked. Gina and I hammered out the contract today and all it needs is Castle's signature. Five books on ten month centers, good up front money and a very favorable residual package… Can you drop by tomorrow morning? Oh, you okay to do talk shows tomorrow afternoon? I tentatively scheduled you to do your normal run."

"Around ten okay? I assume that we are starting our normal pre-release press blitz?"

"Yeah, ten o'clock is fine. … See yeah."

Castle had time to turn off and pocket his phone before Kate crushed him with a hug. "What a week," Kate said. 'We started out apologizing for ignoring each other as he finished his book and I let myself get too immersed in a case. Then he helped save the Department's reputation on the killing in the restaurant and I had to save his ass. We solved our two cases and now with the Black Swan mess solved he is once again a writer on contract.' Kate looked up into her husband's eyes and only saw his love for her. 'Last night you did make me scream. Tonight's my turn,' she vowed as she grabbed Castle by the hand and lead him into the bedroom.

**Chapter 10 Not all parties are created equal. **

"Guys," announced Kate as they were finishing up boxing up the material that was on the murder board, "Castle sighting will be rare for the next couple of days. He has a book launch party Friday night at the Plaza; you are all invited of course."

"That was quick," remarked Esposito, "it normally takes a month from submitted final to party. This has been what two weeks?"

"The VP did say Castle hit the printers at just the right time," replied Kate. "So if we catch a case we are on our own again."

"We can handle it," said Ryan with a smile.

"I know," said Kate she closed the box top and signed off on the inventory. "But sometimes it pays to have him around. "

For Castle the days leading up to the Book Launch Party was filled with interviews, guest appearcences, time on all of the talk shows, and appearances at Castle's favorite book stores. On several occasions, Kate went to bed alone, but she always woke up with her Prince Charming asleep by her side.

During the week the Team caught and solved one case, a domestic argument gone wrong. By the time they finished with the crime scene they got a call from a local tavern owner saying that their prime suspect was asleep on a bar stool. When asked why he didn't call it in sooner. He replied that he knew the husband to be a sleepy drunk and this way he would be easier to handle and besides this would be his last drink for a long time.

Kate sat at her desk and daydreamed about the coming weekend. During their dating and engagement periods Kate never remembered Castle's prelaunch publicity blitz being this intense. She was ready for Tonight and getting her man back. Kate smiled as their personal schedule played out in her mind. Friday night was the business party. Saturday was movie date night followed by Castles' 'demonstration massage'. Sunday Castle and her dad were watching football together and they had an early sitting at Q3 followed by a couple of trips around Central Park in the carriage. Monday, well Monday she would repay her debt.

Kate checked her watch, closed down her terminal and headed towards the Captain's office. Captain Gates waved her in before she could knock. "Detective?"

"Sir I would like to take the rest of the afternoon as Personal Time."

Captain Gates thought for a second, "Book Launch Party?"

"Yes Sir," Beckett replied. "I'm been to them in the past. This is the first one where I've been Mrs. Castle, and I'm NOT going to look like a Detective that just got of her shift."

The woman in Captain Gates agreed whole heartedly. "Approved," she said with the beginnings of a smile.

At the Loft.

Kate had chosen her ensemble with care. The Book Launch Party was being held on the 23rd floor at the Plaza de Rio downtown. The venue had the advantage of being a combination indoor and outdoor affair. The indoor would house one of the bars, the main hors d'oeuvres and of course the book display. There would be adequate space for sitting, or mingling. The outside offered a second bar as well as a spectacular view of the city looking up the river and quiet tables for private talks. It was late September and the outside could be a little chilly, even if they used the heat throwers like they used at the outdoor restaurants.

Kate had chosen a dark forest green dress the covered her left shoulder and her left arm while leaving her right shoulder bear. When she saw herself in the mirror she absolutely loved the look. To herself she admitted she looked like a left handed Amazon. She wore her hair up. It was held in place by a pair of jade chopsticks. Castle would know what to do with the chopsticks Kate smirked. For jewelry she wore a plain thin gold necklace and a pair of ruby earrings that were simply outstanding. She had selected a dark green shawl should the chill prove too much.

Castle was in his normal position by the windows when Kate entered the room. He turned when he saw Kate's reflection. He turned and was speechless. For in his eyes Kate had been turned into a goddess.

Castle's expression warmed Kate's heart. Mirrors were fine and dandy, but the mirror of Castle's eyes was the only one that mattered to Kate. As she approached him she frowned. Someone had tied Castle's tie. Then the other voices in room made sense. "He co-opted you to tie his tie I see," said Kate with a glance and smile to Alexis.

"Yeah," Alexis answered. "I know when you married my Dad I turned over all feeding, dressing and other duties to you," she laughed. "but he is such a whiner."

"Whiner?" said Castle as his arms were finally able to encircle Kate and draw her close.

"Katherine you look absolutely wonderful tonight," said Martha.

"I'm glad one member of the Castle family noticed," Kate replied dryly.

"Kate I,"

"Hush," said Kate as she put a gentle finger to Castle's lips. Castle hushed, for there was no mistaking the music in Kate's voice, the smile on her face, or the look of love in her eyes.

He kissed Kate's fingers, turned and regarded the room. Tonight he felt like the luckiest man alive. His Mother, despite her age, was still an elegant and handsome woman. Tonight she was dressed in her 'hunting' clothes and no doubt would find a partner for drinks, dinner, and dancing. His daughter Alexis was turning into an incredible beautiful young woman. Tonight she was dressed like a twenty-something with her whole life ahead of her. Castle turned his head to his left and looked at Kate. He had no words to describe the goddess that had attached herself to his arm. "Let's go, if I'm too late they will drink all of the booze and leave. "

"Mrs. Caste, I…"

Kate gently squeezed Castle's arm "I love you too Babe," she said in a soft throaty voice that promised the world.

The Castles arrived at the party ten minutes late. 'Not too bad,' thought Castle. 'Not too early to seem anxious and not too late to seem pretentious.' Kate and Castle took a couple of steps after they entered the room and stopped to the sound of applause and the flashes of the cameras. After several moments they continued on their way. On the way over Kate had decided that she would make the first round of met and greets on Castle's arm. After that he could fly on his own and so could she. By the way Amy looked she was their first stop. Next to Amy was a medium height man with short-cut blonde hair dressed in a blue pin stripped business suit of excellent quality. Next to him was Gina, and she looked extremely pleased. "Rick, Kate," Gina began this is Mr. James Felton. He is the CEO of Black Swan."

"Mr. and Mrs. Castle it's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said as he extended his hand.

"Mr. Felton," Kate and Castle said as they shook hands.

"First I need to apologize for the actions of my former employees. They over steeped their bounds big time. Next I want to congratulate all of us, and especially Gina, on the signing of a new contract. Mr. Castle I trust the contract gives you the freedom to create the books that are the life-blood of this company."

"It does Sir," said Castle in all earnestly. "I shall do my best to take advantage of the opportunity."

"Good. Good. Enjoy the party. I understand from my people think that this is your best book yet."

"Thank you Sir." As the trio walked away toward a small table, it didn't take a genius to see that both Amy and Gina were ecstatic. Kate and Rick exchanged pleased glances as Castle grabbed a flute of Champaign from the waiter. In response to Rick's unasked question," I'll share yours." Castle did not miss the subtext. 'Tonight you are not getting drunk.' Castle gave Kate's hand a gentle squeeze of understanding and turned just in time to greet, Ringo, Mike, and Alex.

"Thanks for inviting us Mr. Castle. This is the first Book Launch Party I've been too," said Alex. "I can't thank you enough. I'm a fan and to be at a launch of a book is incredible."

"You're welcome. Kate this is Detective Alex Holm, Detective Ringo Davis, and Detective Mike Davis. Detectives this is my wife Kate, otherwise known as Detective Kate Beckett. She's a Homicide Detective out of the 12th."

"Hey," said Kate. "I take it you guys are part of the bank robbery task force?"

"Yeah, you probably know we caught some copy cats earlier. We think the real team hit another bank," said Ringo.

"The good news is that the banks are accelerating the modifications," said Mike. "In a month or so all of the banks will have the modifications in place. Not just the banks we identified as risks, but all of them."

"That's great," said Castle.

"You any closer in identifying the Alpha robbers" asked Kate?

"No" admitted Alex. "They're good and left very little in terms of clues. All we have is a name, some blurred photos and some green canvas fibers."

"Thanks again," said Alex as the trio moved toward the bar. As they were walking away Kate looked up and smiled at Castle when she heard Mike say, "Did I hear right? She's a cop?"

Their next stop on their first circuit of the party needed no introduction. "Kate! Rick!" boomed the mayor.

"Bob," exclaimed Castle as the shook hands. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Kate you are…If you weren't married to this lout I'd me mighty tempted."

"Shelia wouldn't like that," said Kate with a laugh. "She couldn't make it" Kate cocked her head for a second? She had no idea how Castle and the Mayor met, or how they became such great friends. That will be a great poker night topic, Kate promised herself.

"She's with our daughter Kelly, volleyball. They start in about an hour. I had to say Hi before I left."

"Well wish Kelly luck for us," said Kate. "And one other thing, I AM married to this guy and plan to stay that way."

The mayor nodded his head and smiled as he said, "Castle is this book any good?"

"Bob I think it's his best yet," said Kate.

"Bob" Castle waved as the Mayor and his party left.

As they approached a small table a small elderly man in a tweed jacket that went out of style twenty years ago looked up and said, "Ah Mr. Castle." Kate didn't need to see the unlit pipe or the sparkling brown eyes behind his glasses to recognize Simon Wade the senior and most respected reviewer of books in New York. 'His reviews hadn't always been favorable,' noted Kate, 'but they had always been fair.'

"Ah Mr. Castle," Mr. Wade said again. "You do know how to tell a story, your plots are solid and your principal characters well formed. Your secondary characters are weak, but acceptable. Your main weakness is in the imagery you portray, but you're getting better. In another five years you could be a pretty good author," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Great party," he remarked as he got up and snagged a flute of Champaign from a passing waiter and headed out the doors to the balcony.

Castle and Kate looked around. Despite being in a room full of people they found themselves alone.

"Five years," parroted Kate.

"I'll take it," said Castle as he had a sip of Champaign and handed the glass to Kate. "Last year he said twenty."

"You really enjoy showing me off don't you," said Kate with a touch of heat.

"I won't deny it," said Castle. "All men enjoy showing off their beautiful women companions. I'm no exception. The difference is that the woman on my arm is not some bubble head piece of fluff that is only there because she looks fantastic…. The woman on my arm is a complete person in her own right. She is the best Homicide Detective in New York City. She has accepted me as her partner and in my eyes she just happens to be the most beautiful woman in the world. When she's on her job I am the piece of fluff…."

"Castle you are not a piece of…." Kate stopped when Castle gently touched her face.

"Come the annual awards ceremony later this year and the Police Department Ball I will gladly be the fluff on your arm, because I love you."

Slowly and elegantly Kate raised the fingers of her right hand to her lips. She closed her eyes as she kissed them. She extending her arm until her hand was right over Castle's heart. So looked up into Castle's eyes and give him their special smile. 'I so much want to kiss you,' she thought, 'but this will have to do.'

"There is one other place you can lead me too kind Sir, and that's the bar I want something to drink."

"The lady will have," said Castle as they approached the bar.

"…A large glass of water with a lot of ice. And the gentlemen will have a large glass of unsweet tea," said Kate as she settled into a bar stool. She watched Castle's eyes narrow and his head finally nod. Kate had accepted her role as Castle's dietary and exercise steward with a vengeance. They clinked their glasses and started to drink their drinks. "Hit me again bar keep," said Kate as she placed her empty glass back on the bar. The bartender grinned and quickly refilled Kate's glass.

"Castle," said Kate as she nodded toward the door that led back into the hotel.

Castle turned in time to see Martha wave and head out the door on the arm of Ted Robinson, a longtime friend. "It looks like Mother found her dinner and dancing companion," said Castle as he searched the room for a sign of Alexis. He spotted her as she was walking out onto the balcony in the company of a young man. When Castle started to follow Kate gently touched his shoulder. Castle stopped and looked at his wife. Kate chocked her head and returned Castle's gaze. Castle sighed. "Kate I…"

"I love her too Babe."

Castle finished his tea, placed his glass on the bar and turned to Kate with a questioning look on his face.

"Fly solo Babe. I'll be fine."

"Just remember who brought you."

"I DO intend to go home with him," Kate laughed.

As Kate drank her water she looked around the room. Officer Hastings and her writer boyfriend were talking with Lanie, Esposito and the Ryan's. The laughter coming from that group brought a smile to Kate's face. Amy and Gina were seated at a small table. Each had their Planners open and they were engaged in a furious discussion. Probably planning Castle's book tours Kate thought.

Apparently Kate's absence from Castle's arm had emboldened Castle's female fans. Kate saw Castle surrounded by the ladies and signing autographs at breakneck pace. She watched as one of the female fans hand Castle a sharpie, thrust out her chest and draw back her shawl. "Sorry Ladies. I don't sign bodies anymore. You see I've signed on with the most remarkable woman in the world and I don't want to sign my life away." 'Things like that will keep you on my good side,' thought Kate. 'And maybe warrant some special attention.' Kate watched the Castle centered mob move away from the book table and toward the hot hors d'oeuvre line. 'You better not pig out Mister,' Kate thought as she watched Castle pick up a plate. Well there is something I've wanted to do all night, and now is the time, Kate thought as she left the bar stool and headed to the display of books.

Kate watched Castle's head snap toward one member of the wait staff and then back to another. She watched a familiar expression wash over his face. I'm going to have to ask what that's all about, she thought. With a shaky hand Kate reached for a book, and turned to the dedication page. "That man!" Kate whispered as she looked up and locked eyes with Castle. The self-satisfied grin on his face both warmed and infuriated her. 'He knew all along that I wanted to read the dedication', she thought, and the dedication was special, even from Castle. 'I'm going to kill him by loving him to death. '

"You didn't know," said a familiar voice.

"No Jenny I didn't," said Kate. "Castle isn't much of a secret keeper, but this one he always keeps. I'm glad you could make this one. Great dress. How's your daughter?"

"Thanks, our rapidly growing little one is with Grandma tonight," Jenny beamed. "Thanks again for inviting us."

"Your family," Kate said matter-of-factly. "Alexis says we have two sets of in-laws. The writing set which is Castles and the Cop set which is mine."

Jenny laughed. "Kate I don't mean to pry, but are you and Castle…?"  
"Yes we are, and soon. Castle has left the timing to me. I'm not going to try anything special. I'm going to have faith that we can and will," finished Kate with a satisfied smile.

"What's that" asked Jenny?

Kate followed Jenny's gaze to the commotion at the entrance.

"News crews I think," said Kate as she watched Amy move to intercept and guide them.

"I guess I need to go and protect Castle from himself." Kate took her time as she wandered over to the area where the TV crews were collecting material for their 'spots' on the eleven-o'clock news. She managed to stay on the fringe until the sharp-eyed reporter from channel two spotted her and cajoled her onto camera with Castle. After answering a few asinine questions the TV crews felt they had enough footage and left.

Fans filled the void left by the film crews. In no time the fans and the Castles were casually chatting on all things 'Nikki Heat.'

"Dad," Alexis interrupted. "I won't need a ride back to the Loft. I'm going to dinner with Mat. Mat Jamison."

"That's nice sweetie," said Kate before Castle could start to give Mat the third degree. "Just call us when you get home. You know what worrywarts we are."

"Sure," Alex said as she hugged them both and left.

"Excuse us for a couple of minutes will you'" Castle asked his fans? "Kate and I are going catch our breaths and enjoy the view from the balcony for a couple of minutes."

Arm-in-arm they exited through the doors and unto the balcony. Castle finally stopped at the rail. Gripping it with both hands, "Alexis…"

"Is a grown woman capable of making her own choices," said Kate in a patient level tone.

"If he hurts her…," Castle said with a little heat.

"If he hurts her physically then you can have what's left after I hunt him down and pulverize him," said Kate in a voice of cold steal. "If he breaks her heart, we pick her back up, pat her on her behind and tell her to get back out there because life is meant to be lived. Hiding behind walls because you're afraid to get hurt is no way to live."

Castle looked at Kate and understood. Not only had Kate steeped up to be Castle's wife in all definitions of the word she had also accepted the role of being a Mom to Alexis, and Alexis was letting her. Castle reached out, covered Kate's hand and gently squeezed it. Turning his head he looked back out over the city. 'I like the view better during the day,' Castle thought. 'But there is something special about the river and the lights of the city.' Looking up he frowned, the gray skies promised rain latter.

"Castle" asked Kate? "What happened at the hors d'oeuvre line?"

Castle looked around and then pulled Kate close and gently kissed her, whispering he said, "One of the clues from the bank robberies is a name, Chase. Another clue is some blurry photographs from their last robbery. Well one of the waiters, who kind of resembles the face in the picture called out to Chase for some more meatballs."

Kate considered telling Castle about the suspicious death of the previous owner, but decided against it. "Kind of thin. What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll go to the Task Force on Monday and ask them to take a look. You know what they say about coincidences." Castle looked around and slowly pulled Kate into another kiss. When they broke, Kate signed and laid her head on his chest. After a moment Castle said, "I guess we had better go back in."

After the Castle's had reentered the room, a figure emerged from behind the balcony bar. 'I need to tell the boss about this. We need to stop Castle before he goes to the Task Force on Monday. I knew taking that idiot Jim on the jobs was a mistake, but no one listens to me.' He returned to his task of restocking the bar.

When the Castle's reentered the room they noticed that the crowd had thinned considerably. All that was left was their hard core fans and some junior reporters. Once again they found themselves discussing all things 'Nikki Heat.' The reporters were impressed with the depth of knowledge of the fans and their zeal, and before long they were a part of the scene and not just observing it. Kate's face turned an interesting shade of pink when during a brief interlude her stomach rumbled. "I'm going to take that as hint that I should take my wife to dinner. Enjoy the party." Acknowledging the well wishes from the fans the Castle's left the party.

Kate was not surprised when Castle pressed the button for the basement. When they exited they exited the 'Service Exit' they headed for the carters white vans. As they walked slowly by each of the vans both of them noticed that on one of the vans there was some scratches in the paint around the caterer's logo on the side of the truck. 'Scrap marks from magnetic signs' thought Castle?

After calling for their town car from the Bell Captain Castle asked, "Where do you want to go for dinner?"

"I don't feel like eating in a restaurant tonight," said Kate. "How about we stop for some take-out? Italian?"

"Okay, but not Italian. Mexican?"

"Rebs," said Kate with a smile. "Barbecue. You can get the beef brisket and…"

"…You can get the pulled pork. Slaw of course, beans and fries?"

"Yeah," said Kate "the works."

When they got to the Loft, Kate went to the bedroom as Castle set the food out on the counter. She changed into a loose fitting sweat shirt and a pair of sweat pants. She deliberately left her hair up. That's for Castle to undo, she told herself with a smile.

After dinner and the related domestic chores they retreated to the couch turned on the TV and to their delight discovered that one of their favorite movies, 'The Thin Man' was just starting. Cuddling, Kate laid her head on Castle's shoulder. It only took a few moments before he reached up and pulled out the chopsticks holding Kate's hair in place. Straightening Kate shook her head letting her long hair cascade to its full length. Leaning back in she whispered, "That's not the only thing that needs undoing."

"Patience," responded Castle as he reached across and started to untie the cord of Kate's sweatpants. With her sweat pants on the floor in front of the couch, Kate deftly arranged the quilt over the both of them and began some Castle undoing's of her own.

**Chapter 11 Instruction in the finer points of …**

Detective Beckett had just passed Esposito's and Ryan's empty desks and placed her now full coffee cup on her desk when her phone rang. As expected, it was Castle. "Hi Babe,… Yeah I let you sleep in … I had breakfast. I nuked some of the leftover pulled pork. It was rather good. …No Javier and Kevin aren't here. They're on call today… Luck of the draw I guess. … Oh, are you coming here or meeting me at the theater. …Bye Babe.

Kate sat down and looked around the Bull Pen. 'Despite the presence of two full Teams and several solos the place seemed empty without Esposito and Ryan and desolate without Castle' thought Kate. Wiggins and Irons were working the Hawking's case, and Gomez and Solo had just left to work the case the homeless death in Midtown. 'If Captain Gates keeps to her usual weekend schedule she will show up after lunch, 'take the pulse of the house' as she calls it and head home to be with her family.' If it stays quite I can have a serious look at the cold case, thought Kate.

She started with the Sous Chef that ended up buying the company, one Michael Anthony Thomas of Fort Lee, New Jersey. When Detective Beckett read the various reports on the public details of is life, education, finances, motor vehicle, nothing stood out. Then it hit her NOTHING STOOD OUT. The more Beckett dug the more convinced she became she was reading a legend. This story is just too normal to be true, Kate thought. I wish I could pass this name on to a pro.

Over lunch in the break room Kate thought about what she had read. Okay, if he is a pro why does he need to rob a bank to get money? Why would he risk it? Why wouldn't he get money from his people? Maybe he's robbing the bank because he's gone rouge, or he has become disavowed. Maybe this is a personal vendetta, or maybe he's been instructed to cut ties and execute the mission locally so that the home country can say he acted on his own. "Watch it Kate. You are beginning to sound like Castle," Kate laughed as she verbalized.

When Kate thought of Castle she looked at the remains of her lunch and started to laugh. She could expect an irate phone call any time now. She could picture it now, Castle returning home from shopping for tonight, opening the fridge and searching for the leftover beef brisket and coleslaw. "What can I say Babe," Kate verbalize, "It was good."

The ding of the elevator caught Kate's attention. It was Captain Gates. Just like always she came in to make sure everything was running smoothly. Kate packed up the remains of her lunch. This afternoon I'll see if there is any correlation between the robberies and the finances of either Mr. Thomas or the company.

The finances of both Mr. Thomas and the Company were a mystery. What Detective Beckett could decipher from the Company's finances was pretty clear. They were doing considerably better than when Mr. Giusto owned the company. I wonder if he is supplementing the deposits with robbery money. Even so how could they afford to buy the seven new vehicles the DMV says they have and Castle and I saw yesterday? How could they afford to redo their kitchen, and hire four more staff? I wish I had a list of clients, jobs and payoffs.

Digging into the records of the contractor that remodeled the kitchen Beckett discovered that the invoices were paid from Mr. Thomas's investment account. What investment account? Beckett literally screamed. Backtracking Beckett discovered that the account was opened at the same time as he started his apprenticeship. From almost a year there was no activity. Then this year there have been numerous wire transfers from a company in Gibraltar. Gibraltar?

Beckett checked the wire transfers with the robbery dates. Each wire transfer occurred seven-to-nine days after the bank robbery. "So he robs the bank, keeps some of the money to pay off the help and then boxes up the rest and sends it overseas. It somehow finds its way to Gray Pigeon LLC and they send back a wire series of wire transfers. Which he used to buy the company, upgrade the vehicles and the building, probably to keep Chef satisfied and…." verbalized Kate.

"Detective Beckett" asked Captain Gates?

"Just muttering to myself Sir," Beckett confessed. "This is one of the cold cases, the caterer Alberto Giusto."

"I don't remember it."

"Death by mysterious circumstances. I've found a plausible motive, and I've uncovered some interesting financial activity, but nothing I can take to the DA yet."

"Well since you have the time, keep at it. Your partners?"

"Both of them are on call today and tomorrow."

"Good for them. How was the party?"

"Typical," replied Kate. "The recital?"

"She was fantastic, and that's not just her Mother speaking," said Captain Gates in a rush. "She has some talent, and the will to work at it. Now we have to see if she really wants it. And if she does…"

"Piano right?"

"Yeah, this morning we were out looking at pianos. If we get one, we'll find some space for it in the house I guess. Keep at it Detective. I'm off for round two of piano shopping."

The rest of the shift went quickly and when Castle came off the elevator take her to movies and dinner she was convinced that the Sous Chef had killed the owner and taken his place, but she was clueless as to why.

Force of habit compelled Kate to check the mail when they came home from the movies and dinner.

"No you don't," said Castle as he ambushed Kate again. This time he picked Kate up completely off the ground spun her around and set her on her feet facing the bedroom. After depositing a kiss on her cheek he continued," You need to head that way. The mail can wait. I already checked."

When Kate entered the bedroom she saw that Castle had been busy preparing it for her. The bed had been covered with a sheet and a single pillow was in the middle of the bed near the headboard. On the nightstand were various oils and towels.

"Now I want you to take a shower and wash off the day," said Castle, "And come back wearing a towel."

"I thought you were going to say a smile," teased Kate.

"You will be smiling when I'm done. Now take your time. I have some preparations to finish."

Kate was anxious and had to force herself to take her time in the shower. She also gathered her hair into a pony tail to make it easier for Castle to manage. When she emerged into the bedroom Kate looked at the clock. It was a little after nine. She noticed that Castle had changed and completed his preparations.

The room smelled heavenly and was lighted only by white candles. In the background was soft violin music, and the bed was covered with rose petals from at least four or five types of roses. 'He must have had help with combining the scent of the roses with the candles,' Kate thought as she let herself be escorted to the bed and preceded to lie face down in the middle. 'Whoever it was, knows her stuff.'

"Now pay attention my Padawan,' said Castle, "Sight, smell, and sound are as equally important as your touch for your client."

"One must always protect the dignity of one's charge," said Castle as he carefully loosened Kate's towel and slowly folded it down so that it only covered her derriere. Kate closed her eyes. She heard Castle open one the jars of oil pour some unto his hand, felt the bed move as Castle leaned in. 'The scent of the oil mixes well too,' thought Kate just before Castle's fingers made contact with her neck. The deep, hard neck and shoulder massage caused Kate to alternately gasp and purr. Stopping only to replenish the oil on his hands Castle slowly worked his way down from Kate's shoulders to her lower back. As he did so Castle provided a soft commentary about the muscle groups and pressure points, which Kate did not hear a word of.

After he finished with her lower back, Castle switched oils and started on Kate's right leg, right down to the tips of her toes. After he finished Kate's left leg he slowed rolled the towel back up to cover Kate's back and held it just above her back.

"Now if mademoiselle will roll-over slowly I will work on the front."

Kate watched Castle pour more oil into his hands. When she was sure he was looking at her, she reached up with her right hand and grabbed the top left corner of the towel. She watched Castle's eyes follow the towel as she slowly drew it down and to her right until she was completely nude.

"That was unexpected," said Castle, "and entirely delightful."

Kate was hoping for a kiss, what she got was Castle starting at her right shoulder and working his way down her arm. She closed her eyes as the sensations flowed. After he had completed the process on her left arm he worked on Kate's oblique's from the front and finished by redoing he legs.

"Roll over please and I will do the back one more time."

Kate complied and was putty in his hands as he worked his way from her shoulders down to her lower back.

"And that Mrs. Castle concludes the lesson," said Castle as he gently kissed Kate's ear.

Kate looked at the clock. It was a quarter past eleven. "ere ah" she said as she promptly fell asleep.

**Chapter 12 Reservations**

Kate woke up and snuck a peek at the alarm clock, five zero five. I slept for almost six hours and it was glorious. The room was illuminated by a single candle and still smelt wonderful. She stretched in all directions simultaneously, and felt the rose petals on her body. Then she realized what was missing, Castle!

Kate was covered with a sheet and sprawled in the middle of the bed. 'That big soft-hearted, dolt of a husband must have thought I looked too comfortable to disturb. Doesn't he know beds are for sharing?' Kate thought back to one of the few 'Mother-Daughter' talks she had had with her Mom. She had awoken early one morning and saw her Mom and Dad sleeping on the couch. When she asked her Mom about it she said they had fought, parents sometimes do, and the one thing she should never do is let her husband sleep alone. Like most advice from parents she didn't understand it at the time but now she did.

Kate gathered the sheet around her and on impulse grabbed a handful of the rose petals. After blowing out the candle, Kate opened the bedroom door and listened. Castle's gently snoring led her to the couch. Kate stopped and looked down at her husband. He was wearing his sleepy boy expression and did not appear to have a care in the world. Kate dropped to her knees and kissed him. "Move over Babe," she whispered. Kate kept it up until Castle started to move back against the couch. Letting her sheet fall to the floor, Kate lifted the quilt, dropped the pedals near the pillow and scooted in beside her husband. She gently guided his arm around her, low across her belly. She wasn't her for sex. She was here because she loved her man. "Love you" she heard, and before long Castle's breathing slowed and deepened. He was once again asleep. Satisfied she joined him.

Kate woke and checked the time on the TV cable box. Her alarm would go off in five minutes. Freeing herself from Castle's grasp, without waking him, Kate went into the bedroom shut off the alarm and showered and dressed for work. When she emerged from the bedroom Castle was still asleep. 'He won't be for long,' promised Kate.

Going to the kitchen Kate started the coffee and then started to cook bacon. After that she started to heat water for soft boiled eggs. Next she started making the batter for her Mother's French toast. Before long she heard noises coming from the living room and the pad of feet coming toward the dining counter. Kate looked up after she had just divided the bacon into two piles and saw Castle sitting in 'her' seat. His sleepy boy expression had morphed into one screaming 'feed me'. Laughing to herself she placed the griddle in the sink to wash so that she could use if for the French toast. Turning to get coffee cups she smacked Castle's had as he tried to steal a piece of bacon from her pile. She knew he was kidding, but one defended one's bacon at all cost.

After pouring them each a cup of coffee, Kate returned to the sink, cleaned the griddle, battered up six pieces of bread and placed them on the griddle. After she flipped the French toast once, she dropped the eggs into the water. A few minutes later they were eating bacon, French toast and soft boiled eggs.

"Castle, about last night, "said Kate. "You were wonderful, fantastic even."

"You deserved it."

"How did you? I mean where did you learn to do that?"

"Research and practice," Castle said without missing a beat,

Kate fixed him with her best 'you had better tell me' stare. It bounced right off. Nothing perturbed Castle during breakfast, except of course someone taking it from him. Not even Kate had 'the balls' to do that. Let it die, she told herself. It occurred BK, before Kate.

"Remember my Dad's coming over," said Kate unnecessarily over coffee.

"I know. I talked to him yesterday. I told him we would feed him lunch, but we had a special dinner planned."

"Yeah I forgot you told me. You making anything special?"

"I thought I would do chicken noddle soup. We are going out for dinner so I thought I would do something hot and light."

"Cold cuts?"

"In the fridge, as is the salads. I'll make fresh tea before he gets here. Now scoot, I'll tidy up."

Kate reached out, grabbed Castle's hand and squeezed …hard. Right now I love you seemed inadequate.

For another day Kate Team's luck held. There was only one overnight homicide and another team picked up the case. This put Kate and her Team back at the top of the list, but football Sunday, as always, was quiet. This gave Kate ample time to try to solve the money mystery surrounding the caterer.

When she returned to the Loft her Dad was waiting on the couch. When he saw his daughter come in, Mr. Beckett got up and waited with outstretched arms. As she kissed his cheek he held her in a fierce hug. After he let go she stepped back slightly still holding onto both of his hands.

"Who won?"

"Giants, Eli threw a sixty-yarder with five seconds left." They both looked at the TV when the sound swelled. "His brother is absolutely schooling the Chargers. I'm glad he's an AFC quarterback and we don't have to face him…. I would ask how things are going, but you look great."

"I love him Dad. He loves me, and we work at it…. Mom being here would make it perfect. "

"I miss her too. I understand that tonight is like a double make-up dinner?"

"Yeah, I let myself get consumed by a case while he was finishing his book. I …. I did nothing to help him."

"I don't mean to take sides…."

"I know Dad. My husband supports me every day of the week. I let him down. Next time I'll give him all of the support he needs. "Kate waited with her Father down stairs until the doorman could flag down a cab. "Bye Dad," she said after she had given him a hug and a kiss. Hurrying Kate moved to the elevators. Even though she knew that Madison would hold their table, she did not want to be late.

Castle was buttoning his shirt when Kate walked into the bedroom. "Town car in fifty-five," he announced.

"Plenty of time," Kate said, 'If I hustle.'

Castle turned at the sound of the bedroom door opening. Kate looked absolutely gorgeous. He took a step toward her, stumbled and then started to fall as if he had been kicked by a horse. The last thing he saw was the end table rising up to meet him.

Kate saw Castle turn and the smile jump onto his face. "Nooo" she screamed as she heard the glass break and she saw Castle fall. Dropping her purse and shawl, Kate ran to the windows to throw the switch that closed the curtains. "No" she screamed again as she heard the glass break again and Castle's body react to the hit. Finally she reached him and started dragging him to the side and deeper into the room, and hopefully out of sight of the assassin. The curtains were closing fast. Kate heard the glass break for the third time. She saw the hole in the rug. If she had not moved Castle, that bullet would have hit center mass.

After dragging Castle a few more feet she stopped, and rested Castle's head on her lap. Castle was breathing on his own- airways check. His pulse was strong and fast, but not racing – heart check. She checked his head and came back with a bloody hand. Looking further she determined it was a scalp wound and they always bleed. Fearing the worst she turned him on his side to look at his back. The jacket had been shredded and his shirt showed a long bloody trail across his back. No entry wound and the trail didn't intersect with Castle's backbone. He had quite literally dodged a bullet. The wound on the thigh was superficial. Castle was bleeding but not bleeding out – blood -check.

Kate scurried back to where she had dropped her purse containing her phone, gun, and badge. As she pulled her phone from her purse she went into the bedroom and collected her shoulder rig. The phone call to the precinct was short and sweet. Castle had been shot from across the street and needed immediate medical attention. Kate shrugged on the shoulder harness and holstered her weapon. After she put on her badge she went to check on her husband.

When she placed his head back on her lap he opened his eyes. "Am I in heaven?"

"You are with your wife in the Loft," smiled Kate.

"Good. As long we are together… Heaven without you would be lonely."

Kate bent down and kissed his forehead. "How do you feel?"

"When I open my eyes the room seems too bright. It seems to move and I feel nauseous."

"Concussion?"

"Probably, but it seems to be going away…. Damn! Kate shoot me."

"Castle?"

"I've stood up Chef twice now. She is either going to poison me, or worse refuse to fed me."

"Castle," laughed Kate "I'll plead for mercy on your behalf." Kate felt relieved. Castle had tried to make a joke.

He reached up and touched his head. When his hand came back bloody he looked up at Kate. "Your dress."

"Is unimportant. What is important is my husband."

"Kate I've never tell you how to accessorize, but the harness and the badge seem to clash with the dress, let alone your earrings and necklace, and yeah I'm feeling better."

Kate looked at the door when the doorbell rang. "Detective Beckett its Hastings" shouted a familiar voice. Kate almost made it to the door before the doorbell rang again. "Kate it's me, Officer Hastings."

Kate opened the door and saw Hastings' eyes widen when she saw the bloody dress. "It's not mine. It's Castle's. Scalp wound. He's okay. He's been shot twice, and knocked himself unconscious. He's conscious and not bleeding out. I think he's going to be fine, but I still want him checked out."

"Sarge I've got eyes on Beckett. See is standing right in front of me. She says that Castle was hit twice went unconscious but is back with us and in no danger of bleeding out."

"That's good news," said Sergeant Williamson over Hasting's radio. "Detective I've sent two units over to the other apartment building to secure the building and start the canvassing process. EMTs are seven minutes out and a Command Unit is fifteen minutes out. Did I miss anything?"

Kate smiled at the question. She remembered the first time a young lead Detective named Beckett asked Sergeant Williamson that same question. "Sergeant your dispositions sound good, but I must admit right now I'm too pissed to think straight. Once I'm sure Castle's fine, I'm going to find the bastard who did this and…"

Sergeant Williamson smiled a toothy smile. Detective Beckett had earned the reputation as a 'Huntress'. 'I feel sorry for the guy. When Beckett tracks him down…I'll be there to stop her from doing anything stupid.'

Sergeant Williamson turned back to the street. "Esposito and Ryan have arrived," he spoke into the radio, "and I can see the EMT vehicle."

In a short while the Loft was fully of cops and first responders. It only took Kate a moment to relate the sequence of events to Gates, Esposito, and Ryan. While the EMTs were preparing Castle for transport CSU identified the location of the perch. Kate was torn between going over to see the perch or go with Castle. "Kate we'll meet you at the hospital," said Captain Gates. Kate nodded and literally ran to Castle's side.

The EMT in the rear of the ambulance did not know what to think about his patient and the Detective ride along. Normally people in an ambulance are anxious or extremely nervous. For these two it seemed like a cab ride. She was sitting on the edge of the gurney holding his hand. There was a look of concern on her face, but no out right worry, and he was making small talk like it was a cab ride.

"Remember the last time we were in one of these" Castle asked? "You said you would shoot both of them if they didn't let me come along."

"Well I was out of bullets, and you said you would drive."

"Hey why do you think they let you on?"

"This probably," said Kate holding her Badge. "You didn't have your credential then. "

"Yeah, you're probably right. Hey if you want to change out the curtains and the carpet now is the time. I know you've been making noises since you moved in for good and curtains and carpets that need repaired because they are bloody and have bullet holes make a pretty compiling excuse."

"Yeah, I think I will. I'll get the carpets cleaned first. Decide what I want and then schedule the work while you're out on a book tour. You'll handle the glass?"

"Yeah, I'll use the same outfit as last time when a bird broke through."

"Big bird. Oh, I'm going to need your wallet."

"Front pocket, I'm kind of constrained now. Why."

"Insurance card. I'll handle the paperwork side. You don't need that crap."

"I knew I married you for a reason."

"Yeah, but not this one," smiled Kate.

Funny think about a Badge and a gun, Kate thought as she headed back to the examination room where they said Castle was. It cuts the intimation nonsense to zero and everyone becomes so much more co-operative. The Doctor looked up as Kate entered the room. "I'll have the gunshot reports for you after I finish stitching him up Officer."

"I'll take them of course," Kate replied. "But I'm here because he's my husband."

The Doctor stopped after he had finished the stich. "Got it. Let me finish my sewing and we can talk….Nurse please," said the Doctor pointing to Castle's head. After the Doctor and Nurse had finished with Castle's right thigh the Doctor looked at his handiwork and then held out his hand to Kate. "I'm Doctor Conrad. Your husband's two gunshot wounds are very minor. The one on the back though…Mr. Castle if that bullet had been a tenth of an incher closer to your body…"

"I know Doc. Unfortunately I can visualize the result."

The Doctor nodded and continued, "Nothing was damaged, but it's going to be a painful annoyance for a couple of days, and then it's probably going to itch like crazy until it finishes healing. It is nothing to be worried about, but it will annoy you. … The real concern is the bump on the head. When you woke up you were experiencing classic concussion symptoms. They've gone away which is great. When you got here we took a picture. It showed a bit of swelling."

"So he's got a swelled head. I knew that when I married him," teased Kate as she reached out and grabbed Castle's hand.

"Yeah," chuckled the Doctor, "but this time the swelling is on the inside. Look it's not much and we've already have given him something to combat it. It's mild enough I could send him home, but…"

"You want to keep him to be sure," said Kate.

"Yeah, we have plenty of beds so that's not an issue either. It's just we can monitor him tonight, and in the morning we can take another picture. I'm sure it's going to show the swelling has gone away and I can release him knowing that he didn't die in his sleep."

Kate and Castle locked eyes, "Babe" she pleaded for she knew that Castle was not a fan of hospitals?

Laughing Castle replied, "Guess I'm spending the night Doc. The idea of dying in my bed of something not related to an overabundance of sex is just not right."

"Castle," Kate exclaimed, her cheeks turning an interesting shade of pink.

"I'll set it up," said the laughing Doctor as he turned to leave.

"What room" asked Kate when the Nurse returned?

"Four Twelve."

"Is the cafeteria open? We were going out to eat and didn't make it."

"No it's closed. There's no reason why Mr. Castle shouldn't eat. Go ahead and order delivery if you want."

"Chinese," Kate said instantly. "The Boys will be over when they finish the crime scene and they said they hadn't eaten yet." Kate grimaced when she thought of her home as a crime scene. Yes, she would be changing out the carpets and the drapes as soon as she could.

"Yeah," said Castle enthusiastically, "Egg drop soup cures everything."

While they were waiting to be moved Kate made three calls. One to order the food, another to tell the Boys the room number and relay Castle's generally good condition and the third was to her friend Madison at Q3.

"Madison said we made the news," said Kate when she walked back in from making her calls. "She also said that getting shot is the flimsiest excuse she has ever heard for missing a dinner reservation. But, because she's a good sport, she is sending over the Key Lime pie the Pastry Chef made for our dessert."

The universe has a sense of humor, observed Castle as he watched the traffic jam occur at the door of his hospital room. First the floor nurse came in to check to see if the equipment was functioning properly and to confirm the Doctors orders. She was almost ran over by one of the hospital admittance clerks as she barged in with more paperwork for Kate to sign, and then there was the orderly wanting for Castle's personal possessions which had already been passed to Kate. As he was leaving the food was delivered followed immediately by the Key Lime pie. The Castle's had thirty maybe forty seconds of togetherness before the Boys and Captain Gates arrived.

"Good to you see you in one piece Mr. Castle. I understand that you could be released tomorrow."

"Yes Sir, I was incredibly lucky."

"Detective Beckett, I've decided to let you work the case WITH the following conditions. Detective Esposito will be the Detective of record for this case. You WILL be allowed to review evidence, analyze records and so forth. You WILL be allowed to offer theories of the crime and to speak with witnesses. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL YOU BE ALLOWED NEAR ANYONE THAT SMELLS LIKE A SUSPECT. Clear?"

"Clear Sir, and thank you."

"That goes double for you Castle….Thank me by not doing anything that would force me to suspend you or get me called in front of the Chief."

"Thank You Sir. Dinner? They always send over an extra entre."

"No thanks, I need to head home."

"At the Loft…"

"Let's eat first," said Kate, "while it's still hot." Sharing Chinese with the Boys was an often practiced ritual. In no time each person had a large portion of their favorite dish and a smaller portion of their secondary favorite and non-case related small talk filled the room.

"You know after you left Martha came home. We told her you had been hurt but would be fine," said Esposito.

"And Mrs. R. being Mrs. R she tried to be the perfect host," added Ryan.

"Coffee" gasped Castle?

"Yep," said Esposito.

"Who drank it," said Kate. "So I know who to apologize to."

"Captain Gates and some others we couldn't get the word to. Will get you the names," said Esposito. "For a woman who can make some great dishes her coffee is horrible. I mean the stuff she makes for poker night is…."

"That's a nightmare we both live with," said Castle with a look at Kate.

"Early morning," shuttered Kate.

Eventually everyone professed to be full, but when Kate produced the Key Lime pie a miraculous thing happened. They were magically hungry again.

Finally Esposito began the narrative. "We dug three thirty-ought-six slugs out of your carpet." He saw the look pass between Beckett and Castle and correctly interpreted their concern. "None penetrated to the floor below. Nobody else was hurt. One of the slugs was in pretty good shape, so if the weapon is in the system we'll find it."

"What about the perch" asked Castle?

"Right across the street and one floor higher," said Ryan. "The occupant got married on Saturday and is on her honeymoon. We are trying to track her and her new husband down."

"Esposito" asked Castle "If you were behind the scope would I be alive?" Kate turned to her husband and stared. 'What a question to ask… No he's just trying to gauge the quality of the assassin,' thought Kate.

Esposito avoided Castle's eyes for a long moment and finally looked up. "I don't know about the first shoot. You may have successfully dodged it. But the second shot, where you are lying prone on the floor, I make that one."

"Thought so. Okay another question. Could you have popped Kate?"

Kate gasped, collected herself and nodded her head. 'All Castle is doing is trying to find out who the target was.'

"I think so, that is if I was looking for her and didn't let my vision be limited by the field of view of my scope. I'm pretty sure I could have nailed her as she was standing by the wall throwing the switch to close the curtains. I'm also pretty sure I could have hit her as she pulled you to safety."

"What have you stepped in" asked Ryan? "Writing?"

"Don't think so. The last time I was told by a very reliable source that the assassin coming after us was world class. This seems…"

"Like someone not really familiar with a rifle," finished Esposito.

"Yeah," said Kate. "The guy has some skills, getting into the building, finding the apartment and leaving without getting caught. He's familiar will the rifle, proficient even…"

"But not Marksman class," added Esposito.

"I think we're done here for the night," said Kate "Can I get lift back Home?"

"Sure," they both said.

"I got her bro," said Esposito. "You go home to Jenny and your little one."

"Sure, see you tomorrow."

"Javier can I have a couple of minutes?"

"I'm parked in our normal spaces."

Kate watched her two friends walk away and turned to look at her husband. His eyes were clear and bright, and he had a somewhat amused expression on his face. Taking both of his hands in hers she looked around the room and finally locked eyes with Castle. "You still owe me an evening out."

"And a new dress," Castle replied.

"And a new dress," Kate repeated. "I'll bring you some things on my way to work tomorrow. Okay?"

"Sure. I never got the opportunity to tell you how beautiful you look."  
Kate leaned in and gave Castle a gentle kiss. "Babe?"  
"I'm okay."

"Come down to the precinct tomorrow after they release you. You can help us figure this out." 'Where I can also protect you and if anybody tries to kill you, they will find me waiting. '

"Show me the perch," Kate demanded as they neared the Loft. "I'm not going to swallow Castle's story that he was the target until I see the situation with my own eyes." The perch was one floor higher and directly across from the Loft. When they got there, CSU was still processing the place. It felt strange staring across the street and into her home. Kate wondered if the curtains were closed every time she and Castle…

"The shooter cut both panes of glass and sat here," said Esposito. "As you can see he had a clear shot at almost everything."

Kate sat down in the chair and pantomimed holding the rifle. She visualized the scene. 'From this vantage point, Castle seems to be right,' she thought. "His range was wrong," she concluded. "The stripe on Castle's back was low, and on the floor he hit Castle in the thigh not the chest. His range was wrong."

"Maybe," said Esposito. "That would seem to fit what we said at the hospital."

Kate got up and left the bedroom were the perch was and stepped into the kitchen area. "The woman who lives her is on her honeymoon and we're tracking her down tomorrow," she told herself. "Canvass turn up anything?"

"A man in blue jeans, dark gray shirt, blue windbreaker and a military style bush hat was seen carrying a green backpack toward the elevators," said Officer Eastman.

"We spot checked the video at the entrance, nothing. The video on the garage camera shows a car leaving a couple of minutes after Castle was shot. We traced the registration to a tenant on the eighth floor. She thought her car was still in the Parking Garage. We've put out an APB. We've pulled all of the video for today. Maybe we can see how he got in," said Officer Laird.

"Okay the guy probably has been here before and is not a tenant. … Tomorrow we track down all people who know she was going on her honeymoon. We also check to see if any of our old playmates got released recently. Maybe they thought that popping Castle was a way to make me pay. And we also try to find out what Castle has been up to. I'll order his fan mail, and after his release we can talk to him."

"Sounds like a plan," said Esposito. "Kate," he continued in a low voice. "We have lots of help on this one. You don't need to do anything stupid."

"I know," she said as she turned away, 'but I can't bear the thought of living without Castle.' She looked up and saw her reflection in the kitchen window. 'And I don't want Castle to have to live without me.' "I'll be careful both physically and professionally," she said as she turned to face Esposito. " I'll think I'll head home now."

"I'll walk you."

**Chapter 13 An Unexpected Visitor**

The Desk Sargent looked up as Detective Beckett entered the foyer of the precinct. Gone was the smiling face of someone in love with life. In its place was an expression the Sargent had seen the Detective wear many times in the past. Her expression was cold and dark, almost primal. As she walked toward his desk and the elevators beyond, the Sargent could feel the force of her personality. 'Bad Guys beware,' he thought as he reached to answer the telephone. 'You have woken the Huntress and now she is hunting you.' The Desk Sargent wasn't surprised when he received a terse 'Good Morning' from the Detective instead of her normal sunshine filled 'Good Morning' she had other things to think about. They had tried to kill her husband. He knew she was not going to let them succeed.

Despite dropping off a bag to Castle in the hospital Detective Beckett still arrived early for her shift. After stowing her purse and jacket, Kate glanced over at the all too clean Murder Board. Picking up her coffee cup she headed toward the break room. Reaching out she adjusted Castle's chair.

A smile came to her lips as she remembered the hospital scene this morning. Castle was already awake and sitting on the chair wearing that silly hospital gown that conceals nothing. He was flipping through the channels with a bored expression on his face. He informed her that he had already had his 'picture' taken, and it was 'clean.' But now he had to wait until the admitting physician came in, around nine-thirty, and confirmed the finding. And it was only after he informed admitting could they start his out processing. He guessed he would get his freedom around noon. Kate guessed as much as slowly unzipped the bag to reveal Castle's iPad. Castle's Happy Boy overwhelmed her.' That's why I'm going to find the Bastard who tried to kill you,' she thought as the Huntress regained control.' I don't ever want to miss seeing you wear your Happy Boy face. '

Returning will a full coffee cup Detective Beckett took a sip, placed the cup on her desk and attacked the already clean white board with some paper towels. After taking a bigger sip of the cooling coffee Beckett grabbed a marker and started placing information on the board. When she was done she stepped back took another sip and laughed to herself. Over the years, her Murder Board had morphed. Now more than ever it looked like one of Castle's scene planners. Why not Kate asked herself? All the information is there. It's easy to find, and its relationship to the case and each other is easy to see.

"Did I miss anything" Kate asked Esposito and Ryan? Before they could answer Kate's eyes were drawn to the figure that had exited the elevator and was heading her way. She was fairly tall and carried herself with a confidence that was second to none. Yet today she looked worried. It was her ex-partner Rachel McCord. "Rachel it's good to see you, but why are you here?"

"Castle?"

"Fine, he'll be here after he gets released from the hospital."

Glancing toward Captain Gate's office she said, "I need to speak to your Captain."

"She's in. Do you need something to drink?"  
"Coffee would be a lifesaver. I left at O-dark something and not even the coffee shops were open."

"Captain Gates," said Rachel as she knocked on the Captains door "I'm…."

"I remember you Special Agent McCord. What can I do for you?"

"Sir we need to talk and the discussion should probably include Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan."

"Small Conference Room, we can be comfortable there."

After every one had settled in Rachel began. "For the last several months we have been monitoring chatter originating in New York about something big that is going to happen. Right now we are clueless as to what, when, where, how, and why. … Over the weekend we intercepted a message. The gist of it was Castle must be neutralized before he figures it out. We heard about the attack of course, but it didn't occur to me until two-thirty this morning that the Castle in the message could be you know, Castle. Kate what has your husband been up to?"

"Rachel I need the exact text of the message and the date time stamp of the intercept."

"You know don't you?" Before Beckett could answer Rachel's phone rang. "New intercept …Room 412… Assassin. … Kate the Assassin is on his way to the hospital to kill Rick!"

The comic book character Flash could not have beat Kate to the elevator. Whereas Kate had to wait for the elevator, Flash would have probably run down the stairs, and to the hospital. "Pick-up, pick-up," Kate kept repeating as she waited for the elevator to finally arrive. "Babe, the assassin knows your room number and is on his way, RUN…HIDE. I'm on my way."

"One unit is twelve minutes out, the other seventeen," yelled Captain Gates.

At the Hospital

Castle had changed into his getaway clothes Kate had brought and was sitting on the chair with his iPad when Kate called. He jumped up, ran to the door and stopped. No matter how he cut it he looked like Richard Castle. He needed a disguise. Looking to his left he saw the linen cart that one of the orderlies dropped off when he wheeled another patient down stairs for an MRI. Castle took a pair of scrubs, and on impulse took a pair of the blue booties the surgical people wore over their shoes. He needed both hands and feet to count the number of times inappropriate shoes had betrayed the killer.

Changing quickly he regarded himself in the mirror. "Now I look like Richard Castle in scrubs," he complained. That has got to go he thought as he ripped off the hospital patient bracelet. Grabbing a towel from the bathroom he pulled it over his head to cover his face and tucked it into his scrub top. As he left his room he went to linen cart and started to push it, slowly. 'I'm invisible,' he kept repeating to himself. 'I'm invisible, just a hospital done.'

Castle rounded the corner and headed for the elevator. He had taken maybe ten steps when the elevators opened and a man got off and headed in his direction. Castle kept his head low as the man approached and he tried to watch him out of his peripheral vision. To Castle he appeared to be hurrying without hurrying, and the bulge under his jacket was most certainly a gun. Castle slowed down even more as the man passed him heading back to the elevators. Castle started to panic as he approached the elevators, the man was still there. In a panic he stopped and pretended to tie his shoe. Finally he heard the ding of the elevator and the whoosh of the doors. Peaking up from behind the linen cart he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw he was alone.

Pushing the button for the elevator Castle tried to come up with a plan. Getting off at the Ground Level, Castle started to push the linen cart toward the entrance. When he looked up he knew he had made a mistake. The assassin was standing at the intersection of the hallways and was actively searching the faces of the people passing by. It would be only a matter of time before he looked in his direction. Castle dared not make a sudden move for fear of attracting attention. As he was trying to blend into the wall he saw a splash of blue enter the hospital waiting area. "Castle," Officer Hastings waved with obvious relief in her voice.

Castle saw the assassin reach for his gun, "Hastings! Gun! Eleven O'clock!" yelled Castle. The assassin's head snapped in Castle's direction as Castle dove for the floor.

Hastings drew her weapon and fired it twice at the assassin who was shooting at Castle. She saw both bullets hit her target center mass and still he kept firing. Hasting took a deep breath raised her sights and fired. For a few brief moments there was silence and then the screams began.

When the shooting stopped, Castle looked at the scars on the floor from the assassins bullets. The closest one was half an inch away and the furthest three. Peeking up from behind the cart Castle saw that the assassin had been shot in the head and Officer Hastings was starting to go into shock. Picking up several towels out of the cart Castle moved to cover the gun and the head of the assassin. When he looked toward Hastings he saw Sargent Williamson standing in front of his partner and softly talking to her. As he approached he watched Hasting eject the clip from her gun, seat a new one and holster her weapon. Next he watched her take lose ammo out of her pouch, and top off the clip and return it to its position on her harness. What disturbed Castle was that these were automatic actions, her eyes were lifeless. Sargent Williamson looked to Castle his eyes pleading for help. Castle reached out and touched her face. He turned her head to face him. He dropped his head to get within her line of sight. Eventually her eyes focused on him.

"Castle?"

"I'm alive because of you," he said softly. "If you hadn't killed him he would have killed me and a lot more innocent people."

"I had too."

"I know he was wearing a vest and that was the only way."

When the first sob came Castle pulled her into a hug. A few moments later she pushed him away. "If Beckett finds out she'll kill us both."

Castle stepped back and locked into her eyes. There was pain there, and understanding. Hastings had killed her first human being in the line of duty. There was a price to pay, but now it looked like she was in shape to pay it. "Beckett and I have had to kill to save each other. It's never easy, but the alternatives are too costly," he said softly.

Hastings nodded.

Castle looked up just as two other splashes of blue entered the room. Sargent Williamson, seeing that his partner was once again on stable ground, took charge of the situation and the room was soon back to some semblance of normalcy.

Castle, suddenly spent, slumped onto a love seat. The Sargent stood guard over Castle as his partner and Eastman and Laird returned with tape and began marking off the crime scene. He had just gotten word that a Command Incident Response Team was in route when a beautiful but very worried face burst into the room.

Kate burst through the door and slowed to a walk. In the distance she saw Sargent Williamson wave to her. Waving back, Kate hurried towards him. As she approached she saw Hastings, Eastman and Liard standing near a body that had a towel over his face, and a man dressed in scrubs with a towel over his head. "Nice disguise Babe. You okay?"

"Yeah, go talk to Hasting. She had to kill the guy, head shot, he was wearing a vest. It was her first."

Kate looked up at the Sargent. He nodded and beckoned Kate to him. After a brief conversation she went to talk to Hastings. Kate's talk with Hastings only lasted a minute, but Castle could see a smile on Hastings face when she left.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her to ask Tom to hold her and never let her go. …or I would come over and kick his ass."

Castle looked up and past Kate. "Hey Special Agent nobody told me you joined the party. What brings you to town?"

"Business Castle. We need to get you out of here so we can talk."

"Kidnap me. I'll not make much of a fuss."

Kate's laughter was cut short by the presence of the three Commanders who had come to take Castle's statement. As Castle was running through his narrative for the second time Kate asked. "Why didn't you stay on the fourth floor? I mean you saw the assassin go down to the Ground Floor, why follow him?"

"Brain cramp," Castle said instantly. Kate shook her head. Even the brightest can be clueless at times.

As soon as he was released Castle ordered lunch for the Team, but the traffic from the hospital to the 12th was so bad that it beat them there. Still it was better than the hospital breakfast. After lunch the Team and Rachel sat close to the Murder Board and picked up before they had to go and "rescue" Castle.

Kate tried to watch Castle's eyes as she told the story about the death of the caterer, the purchase of the company, the legend like resume of the Sous Chef and the purchases by the company. "And why I really need to know the exact words and the time of the intercept is Castle told me on the balcony Friday night of a very tentative connection between the carter and the bank robberies. Having said that I'm still clueless why he killed the caterer in the first place."

"I'm working on getting that for you."

"That still doesn't explain how they knew about the apartment being vacant," said Esposito.

"She get married Saturday, right" asked Castle? "I wonder if she had a reception and who catered it?" Kate smiled as Kevin dived for the phone. A minute later he added the caterer's name to the Murder Board.

"We don't know for sure," Keven said, "but it's highly likely that their honeymoon plans got discussed publicly at the reception. And if they visited the Bride in her apartment…."

"This is all very nice," said Captain Gates who had joined the group, "But you have nothing useable, and you still have no motive for killing the caterer."

"Sir how many Officers are providing to cover the Fund Raiser on Wednesday?"

"Seven for traffic, five for checkpoints…," then she stopped and looked at Castle like he was a two-headed monster.

As soon as Castle said 'Fund Raiser' Kate's finger flew over her keyboard. A minute later she gasped turned and nodded to Castle.

"We know now why the caterer was killed. Rachel is the President of the United States, the First Lady, the senior party members of the State of New York and approximately seven hundred and fifty of the wealthiest and most influential New Yorkers a big enough target for you?"

"Yes on so many levels, political, economic, public confidence…"

"The caterer was killed," started Castle

"…so the new owner could use the company to kill them," finished Kate.

"Surely the Secret Service has some way to vet the caterer. I mean they must check for poison and biologicals" asked Esposito?

"Probably," said Castle. "But there is always a sauce or a seasoning that is prepared at the last minute. They could whip it up in plain sight using clearly marked ingredients and in minutes they would be serving death."

"People dropping dead would be a good clue to skip dinner," remarked Kevin.

"I'd imagine they would you something that is slow acting, but always fatal just to prevent that sort of thing from happening."

"Does such a thing exist," asked Rachel.

"I'd have to consult my copy of 'The Assassin's Guide to Poison,' but yes I'm sure I could find something common to do the trick."

"The Assassin's Guide to Poison," questioned Captain Gates.

"Second bookshelf on the right, second shelf from the floor, fourth book from the left edge, at least it was there the last time I looked," said Kate. "Being married to a mystery writer gives one access to a very interesting library."

"Don't let Mrs. R near the book," said Kevin.

"She has her own form of poison," said Castle. "She calls it coffee."

"Got that right," muttered Esposito as the Captain chuckled.

"Okay you've got means and opportunity, but no motive and still nothing I can use," said Captain Gates.

"We need to correct that," acknowledged Castle. "What we do have is a body," as he looked from Esposito and Ryan back to the Captain.

"We need to find out who he is and who hired him," said Captain Gates.

"On it," echoed the Boys.

"For the rest we are going to need some help. Some high powered help," said Castle.  
"Like AG Task Force help," added Kate.

"What do you need" asked Rachel with an air of doom?

"This intercept person seems to be in touch with the Sous Chef. Someone has to know this guy's name. Could they quietly check to see if he knows the Sous Chef and determine the relationship between them? I mean if the Chef isn't the mastermind then we need to know who is."

"Got it. Next?"

"I'm passing you five names," said Kate. "I think they are well crafted legends that will take an expert to crack. I think this will give us our motive Sir. I know a person who can help, but I don't know how to contact her."

"Castle?"

"We only know the name she used for the mission," Castle said. "And no I don't know how to contact her. We left on mutually agreeable terms. I would forget what they looked like and they promised never to call us again."

"I can live with that," said Kate a little too enthusiastically. "Also we need someone to look at the overseas finance connection."

"That's going to take more time than we got," said Rachel. "But I'll take it for completeness. Anything else?"

"Yeah everything you can on the company. Only new stuff, from March this year on. Maybe you can find a nugget that was invisible to Beckett,"

"Got that too. I'm going to need to make some calls, private calls with no possibility of interruption."

"Use the room we use to monitor the integrations," said Castle. "It's fairly sound tight and the door locks to prevent…. Unwanted interruptions."

I've called you worse than an 'unwanted interruption' thought Rachel. "That will work," she said tapping her coffee cup. When she saw Castle nod she got up and headed toward the room. Esposito and Ryan grabbed their jackets. They were headed to talk with Dr. Perlmutter, the MD for Castle's would be assassin. Kate watched Castle pick up Rachel's and her coffee cups and head toward the Break room. "Plans Detective" asked Captain Gates?

"I'm going to work with Rachel, and look through my stuff again to see if there is anything I can take to a DA so we can really examine these guys."

"And be sure your husband stays alive."

"Most definitely Sir," Kate whispered as she saw Castle duck into the break room. Kate was so engrossed in her research that she did not notice Castle dropping off her coffee or moving to set at a guest terminal. She was deeply announced when a message popped up on her screen from someone with a username of castleri requesting access to her files.

"Castleri" asked Kate?

"Yeah I've got my own account now."

"Okay, just remember big brother is watching."

Her concentration was broken again when she heard Castle on the phone. "Hi, I'm Jason Rook from the City Clerk's office. I'm calling to clear-up a paperwork glitch. If you can give me two minutes of your time we can solve this and you won't have to make a trip down here…. Great On April 16th of this year your firm obtained two Building Permits. One for a caterer in West Village and the other? …Right. Could you confirm the address?... Thanks much you have been so helpful. "

"Castle you're not doing 'research,'" said Kate as her eyes searched the Bull Pen to see if anyone else had overheard what Castle had done.

"I am, of a sort. Anyway I thought the invoice was too much for just a kitchen refresh so I checked with the Building Permits Database. There were two issued the same day to this contractor. Apparently he did work for his client in two separate locations." Handing the address to Beckett he shuffled toward the elevator. "Coming Beckett," he said with a huge grin. He had been waiting years to say that.

Kate logged the address as her next "20", shut down her terminal and hurried after Castle. 'Why am I hurrying' she asked herself after she had caught him at the elevator? 'I'm driving.'

"Let's go have a look see," said Castle after they had observed the building for several minutes. "

"Patience my Padawan. The universe is revealed to those who have the patient to wait and the skill to observe."

"You're hitting me with a quasi-Star Wars quote. Me!"

Kate smiled. Castle's indignity fooled no one.

She raised her camera and took another picture. The building was seven stories tall brick building, positioned on a corner. The south side of the building had three separate garage doors. The east side looked like the primary people entrance. On the west side was parking for at least twenty cars, and on the north side was the fire escape, an alley with the utility poles and the dumpster. 'If they have freight elevators this could work out well for them,' thought Castle. 'Two full sized kitchens to handle the big jobs, and a dedicated Pastry kitchen, space to meet clients, offices to manage the company, and a space for the employees to hang, and a private space for the boss. That is if they were a real company. Since they aren't real, why do they the space?'

"Now we go" asked Castle after Kate snapped a picture of a caterer truck leaving the building?

"We wait." Kate's patience was rewarded with a BMW sped out of the building. "Got you," she said as Castle heard the shutter snap closed. "Now we go."

They approached the building from the north side. "Castle?"

"I see it, broken window on the second floor fire escape. We can reach through slide up the window and get in."

They slowed down as the passed in front of the building. Looking through the windows didn't reveal anything.

It was after shift when the Castle's returned. As luck would have it they caught up with Esposito and Ryan at the elevator. Over delivery they brought each other up to speed. With only a day and a half to "Dinner Hour" as Castle called it they were concerned they wouldn't find anything in time to stop it and be left holding the 'Smoking Salad Fork.' The only sign of Rachel was a note on Kate's terminal. 'At the FBI Local Office, See you tomorrow.'

At the Loft

Like always, Kate started to sort the mail as soon as she entered the Loft. She half expected to be ambushed like she had been in the previous nights. Instead she saw a tired Castle head toward the bedroom. He emerged a couple of minutes later and headed toward his office. As Kate was leaving after dropping off Castle's mail he asked, "Kate is it okay if a take a rain check on the massage tonight? I don't think I'm any condition to enjoy it."

Kate stopped dead in her tracks. She had forgotten all about repaying her debit. "Castle…I …sure." Kate hung her head as she shuffled toward the bedroom to stow her equipment and change into house clothes. 'I can't protect him,' she thought. 'An assassin almost got him twice. When he needed my help when he was finishing up his book I abandoned him. And now, I got so wrapped up in this case and I forgot I was to give the man I say I love a full body massage. I…'

Kate emerged minutes later, selected some jazz, and curled up in her chair with her e-reader. An hour later Castle looked really beat as he came out of his office and headed toward the bedroom. Kate looked at the time. It was a little early, but she followed him in anyway. Minutes later they were in bed with Castle lying on his back and Kate, uncharacteristically, was lying on the edge of the bed with her back to Castle as far away from him as she could be.

"Kate's what's wrong?"

"Why do you keep me around" Kate heard him hiss with pain as he rolled onto his right side, 'thigh I guess' she thought?

"Come here," he said as he reached out and gently touched Kate. He gently maneuvered her until Kate was drawn in tight to his chest.

"I keep you around because I can't live without you."

"But I…"

"Let me know that I'm loved in so many ways."

"Castle I've let you down. Your book,…tonight."

"Let me be the judge of that," said Castle in a soft voice. "Because in my mind you have NEVER let me down. When I need you, you have always been there and always will be there."

"Tonight…"

"I AM to beat up to enjoy a massage."

Kate snuggled closer. This is where I belong, by his side and he by mine. Kate rolled over to face Castle. "Back rub…roll over and take off your shirt. I may not be able to give you a full body massage tonight but I can at least give you a back rub." Five minutes after Kate started Castle was blissfully snoring. Normally Kate slept in Castle's arms. Tonight he slept in hers. 'Whatever life throws at us,' Kate vowed, 'we will face it together.'

**Chapter 14 No road leads to Rome **

The throbbing in Castle's thigh forced him to open his eyes earlier than he normally did. As he regained his senses he noticed several things. He was sleeping on his stomach and he couldn't remember the last time he had done that. There was an arm across his back and someone was softly breathing on his shoulder, Kate I hope. Castle turned his head, arched his back and looked at the alarm clock. Castle dropped his head back down on his pillow and looked at Kate. Her eyes were open, she was watching him and there was an angelic smile on her face.

"Mrs. Castle,…."

"Shush," she whispered, "Just hold me until it's time for us to rejoin the world."

"…is a genius." Castle rolled to face Kate, placed his hand in the small of Kate's back and gently pulled her closer. Kate had her arm under Castle's and her hand on top of Castle's shoulder and hugged him to her. When he tried to kiss her cheek, she intercepted him with her lips. When the gentle and lingering kiss ended, the Castle's shared a smile.

Kate rounded the bed, after turning off the alarm, and headed toward the shower. She smiled when Castle became vertical and announced his attention to join her. Last night in her dreams she had faced her demons and defeated them. This morning she was convinced that foundations of their marriage, mutual love, trust and respect had never been more solid and as long as they continued to work at their marriage, it would blossom into something truly spectacular.

At the 12th

"Damn," Kate muttered.

"Problem" asked Castle?

"Yeah. I'm nowhere." The license tag on the BMW they had photographed was a fleet tag. After the morning standup, noticeable by Rachel's absence, the Boys went to toss the assassin's apartment, Castle was diving into the second building and Kate was looking into the car they had spotted leaving the building.

"When it turned up as a fleet tag I thought we were in trouble, but I thought the holding company would tell us something but so far butkus."

"Who's the holding company?"

"The Paleontology Advancement Society."

"The what?"

"The Paleontology Advancement Society. It's non-profit. Their charter is to support paleontology studies worldwide."

"Sounds like a CIA front company."

"It does, doesn't it? Because it's a non-profit getting anything at all has proven difficult. On the Board of Directors are several college professors, distinguished I might add, and members of several museums, Natural History Museum in Washington, Fields in Chicago, and the Natural History Museum here in New York. No New York office and the Managing Director, one Marcus Grimm, is reportedly on travel in Utah. I've talked to the local guy at the Museum. The board supports fund raising activities and approves grants to worthy projects. He wasn't aware that the Society had cars."

Kate looked back at Castle. He had that special 'conspiracy' look on his face. "You think he's the source of the intercepts don't you."

"No, the collector of the intercepts."

"Do you think he knows what's going on?"

"Hard to tell. Did you check for Society credit cards?"

"No response yet. How you coming with the building?" Kate turned her head when she saw Castle nod toward the elevator. It was Rachel. Her head was down, she was walking slowly, and she didn't look happy. Kate was aware of Castle as he moved by collecting coffee cups. He probably read the body language the same way I did, 'bad news' and thought that it would be more easily shared between partners.

"Hey Rachel," said Kate as Rachel stumbled in and sat in Castle's chair.

Rachel thanked Castle for the coffee with a smile and then turned and looked at the floor as she began speaking. "We aren't going to help Beckett… My Boss thinks the idea of using a catering company as a weapon to kill the President and campaign contributors belongs in one of Castle's books not in real life."

'They tried to kill Castle, twice,' Kate wanted to rage.

"Any idea on who's gunning for Castle," asked Captain Gates, obviously drawn to the conversation by the Special Agent's presence.

"No Sir. We're still clueless."

"I see," remarked the Captain. She could see the look of outrage on Beckett's face, and Castle's expression was an open book, but best left undescribed. "When are you returning to DC?"

"I'm on the twelve-ten shuttle. I just dropped to deliver the bad news in person. Look Kate, Rick, we are still going to be looking for a connection between the intercepts and you. When we find something we'll act on it. In the meantime be careful."

"I'll walk you out," said Kate. She had noticed her former partners eyes widen when she took one last look at the Murder Board, and the only new information up there was the entry for The Paleontology Advancement Society.

"I'm really sorry Kate," said Rachel after she had pushed the button for the elevator. "But I have my orders. Please try to keep your husband safe. He is a bloody imaginative genius."

"Can you give me anything," whispered Kate.

Rachel's eyes flashed to Castle then back to the floor. "No Kate," she whispered. "I've got my orders."

The fact that Kate left Rachel standing alone in front of the elevator and headed to the bathroom was missed by no one. When Kate returned, Esposito and Ryan where in front of the Murder board and talking with Castle. Their body language screamed their lack of success.

"We picked up a pair of rifles in his apartment. One of them was in a backpack. We dropped both of them off at CSU. We should hear back within an hour," started Esposito.

""Any luck in finding out who hired him," asked Castle.

"We found a cocktail napkin from the '76' club with fifteen thousand written on it."

"Fifteen thousand", said Castle. "They should have offered more. I'm worth at least…" Castle stopped when Kate's glare reached epic proportion. "What's the '76' Club?"

"It's like a hiring hall for bad guys. If you want to buy a service, it's available. Forgery no problem. Bump keys ditto. This is first time I've heard of a hit though," added Ryan.

"Any chance of getting something out of the owners of the club" asked Castle?

"No chance. If a badge shows up the place goes quiet. Anyway, all the action is in member only rooms. The waiting period for acceptance is six months. The last undercover who applied was found dead with his tongue cut out," said Kate. "All we do now is passive surveillance. "

"Anything on the building?"

"A two page Scene Manager" said Castle with a touch of awe?

"I used to date a writer, Cas something. He had a way for capturing information. I just improved on it."

"It is. The building has been on the market as a repro for four years now. It was bought by 'Gourmet Experiences.' It is an LLC which has Mike Thomas as the owner."

"The Sous Chef?"

"Yes. Apparently this will be the name of the company when he loses the rights to its current name. He bought it on a one year Land Contract. He's made several large cash payments that sort of line up with the bank robberies. But what is really interesting is the work the contractor did on it. The contractor checked out the elevator, upgraded the power and plumbing on the first floor and he built a low vibration platform."

"It sounds like he had some equipment installed," said Esposito.

"And what Caterer needs a low vibration platform" added Ryan?

"Suspicious yes, but nothing actionable," said Kate. "Castle if we were still engaged we would have an excuse to visit the main office. Now we have nothing." Kate saw Castle straighten up and a familiar expression cross his face.

"Mr. and Mrs. Castle are pleased to announce…" began Castle.

"The engagement of their daughter Alexis to…" continued Kate.

"… John Carter."

The trip to the Caterer was revealing, but not case breaking. When they arrived all of the seven vans were in the yard being cleaned, inside and out. The absolute look of shock on Mr. Thomas's face was easy to spot. After they had started chatting Mr. Thomas excused himself for a moment. Castle was sure it was to pass the word to the employees he might recognize to disappear.

The trip to the kitchen was enlightening. It was clear that Chef Tony Orso was in charge of a happy kitchen. The staff was doing their pre-prep work and everyone was happily discussing tomorrow's upcoming dinner. Without much prompting they heard that the Chef was serving New York style Clam Chowder, Caesar salad, a choice of roast pork, turkey or beef tips as the entre, and a choice of cherry, peach or apple cobbler for dessert.

When Kate managed to steer the direction toward the Sous Chef some of the liveliness left the conversation. They learned that 'Mr. Thomas' was too busy being the manager to act as a Sous Chef anymore, and his only reasonability for this meal was the Caesar salad. That meant the Chef had to do double duty, but they were convinced that tomorrow would be a huge success. When they left they were convinced that the Sous Chef was the kingpin and the second building was important to his plans. But they were still unsure how he was going to pull it off.

The end-of-shift wrap up was particularly gloomy. On the primary case, the attempted hit on Castle, they had exhausted all of its leads and were dead in the water. As for the other potential case, the murder of the President, they had even less.

**Chapter 15 Dinner Hour Minus **

The light cold rain falling reflected Beckett and Castle's mood as they sat in Kate's cruiser watching the second building with mixed emotions. If none of the caterers trucks showed up then Castle's theory would have been that, just a theory. But if a truck did show up, they would be forced to act and Kate was worried about the legality of their actions but even more scared about what would happen if they didn't act.

They were out of the cruiser and heading across the street before the garage door was fully open. Instead of heading for the fire escape, Castle headed toward the front door. "Turn around Kate," Castle demanded as he pulled two lock picks out of his roll-up case. Kate turned around and looked at her watch. Forty seconds later Castle tapped her on her back and they were in.

They had memorized the building floor plans this morning and followed the corridor leading to the garage bay. Carefully opening the last door they crept in and hid behind some shipping creates.

"If we are poisoning them, why do we need the gas?"

"The poison in the salad dressing is for the President and all of the other fine people," said Mr. Thomas's voice full of sarcasm. "The gas is in case we missed someone and for the cops who will come running in to see what happened. We don't need to worry about the gas we each have our antidote pen right. So let's finish loading and get out of here before we attract too much attention."

"What about all of the gas we're leaving behind?"

"Those canisters belong to me," said a deep male voice with an unidentifiable accent. "They are my payment for helping you extract your revenge on New York's high society. Don't worry I have a campaign in mind that uses them and it will drive this city to its knees."

Kate had heard enough. From the quick looks she had taken she knew she was outgunned at least ten to one. No her duty was clear. She had to get out of here warn her Team about the van and get a HAZMAT Team down here to collect the gas. As they were backing up a door to their left opened. It was a man coming out of the bath room.

"What are you doing here" he shouted?

"NEW YORK PD!" shouted Kate "Don't move and put your hands in the air. You are all under arrest."  
"Get out of here and complete your mission," said the man with the deep voice. "We'll take care of them." When the first shot was fired Kate knew they would never make it to the door so she dropped back down behind the crates. "Castle take my backup piece," said Kate.

"In a second." Kate chanced a brief look. Castle had his phone out and was dialing the 12th. 'Smart man' Kate thought as she looked back in time to shot a man rushing their position."

"Detective Esposito."

"Javier, its Castle put us on speaker and listen up."

"Was that gunfire?"

"Yeah, listen up. We are at the second building. Stop van seven. The President is the target. The poison is in the salad dressing. Did you get that? The President is the target. The poison is in the salad dressing. Oh, they also have canisters of poison gas, so don't let them activate them."

"Backup is on the way," yelled Ryan.

"Van seven, poison dressing and gas, got it," yelled Esposito.

"Go, Go," said Captain Gates, as the crowd of people around Esposito's desk attracted her attention. She half listened to the speaker phone as she made the calls to her people down at the Civic Center to ambush van seven as soon as it arrived. Her next call was the HAZMAT Response Team advising them to roll a unit to the Civic Center. Gates looked up and the crowd in the Bull Pen was large. Apparently Castle had left the phone on speaker and was helping out Kate.

The shots, some loud, some not so loud testified to the fighting still continuing. Gates looked at her watch, 'five minutes until the backup arrived. Keep your heads down for five more minutes.'

'Kate, behind you,' screamed Castle. The room heard two quick shoots followed by a third. 'Castle, nooo' screamed Kate, followed by two quick shots. 'Castle? '

'Leg'

'Damn they got Tim and Mike,' said a stage deep male voice. 'Let's set the charges and go.'

'But the gas?'

'Some other time.'

"I think they're gone," said Kate.

"Help me up. I thought he said something about setting charges."

"Javier, you still with us?"

"I sent him to take charge at the Civic Center," said Captain Gates. "What's your status?"

"Castle's been shot in the leg. He's not bleeding too badly, but we still need an EMT." An Officer setting at Ryan's desk grabbed the phone and started to make the call. "Castle thought he heard something about charges so we're going to look."

For several moments the room heard shuffling as Beckett helped Castle move. 'Shit!' exclaimed Castle.

"Sir," said Beckett in a voice as calm as a Mother singing her child to sleep. "Tell the backup to stop and block off the streets around this place. It looks like they have a charge on every support column. And Captain they have charges mixed in with the gas canisters and the machine they used to make the gas. If the charges blow this will be a HAZMAT event."

Everyone in the room gasped. "Understood," replied the Captain just as calmly as her subordinate.

"We got some time, lets grab the charges from around the bottles and the machine and as many as we can off of the nearby columns," said Castle.

"Then what? Oh cart and then have the elevator take them to the top…. Castle what happens if you know one of the canisters breaks."

"People die. What we need is the grandfather of all thunderstorms. Maybe if the rain is hard enough it can absorb some of the gas and reduce its potency…. Thor old buddy every month I read your comic book so if you're up to it do your follower Rick a favor and rain all over my parade. I mean really rain on my parade. "

Captain Gates saw the smiles fade to real world prayers as the only sound over the phone was that of the Castles' shuffling about. At last they heard the ding of the elevator.

"Kate, you've got a minute you can make it, run."

"No."

"Kate, I've never asked for anything."

"So don't start."

"When you standing on a bomb and asked me to leave I did."

"But you came back."

"Kate I."

"Whatever happens, happens to the both of us, together. So shut up and kiss me."

Even though the explosion was miles away it rocked the room to silence. Eventual the phone cycled to the dial tone. Silencing the phone the Captain looked up and addressed her troops. "Guys, I know it looks bad. But Castle is one creative SOB, if there is a way to survive this he will find it. I'm not going to count them out until I see their bodies. Oh, and the only place I want to hear or read Kate's last words to Rick is at their eulogy. Lieutenant, please inform Command that we have two missing in action, but first inform the first responders that they are walking into a HAZMAT situation. They can figure out the specifics when they analyze the stuff we capture at the Civic Center. I need to call Martha and Jim."

**Chapter 16 Booms Echo**

The call to Mrs. Rodgers went well, thought Captain Gates as she sped toward the Civic Center. Mrs. R had a Mother's optimism that somehow her little boy would come through this unscathed. Gates didn't know about that, but she knew that if there was a slim chance, Castle would find it. Mrs. Rodgers said that Jim, Kate's Dad, had been suddenly called to Europe and she would get hold of him. She said she would also tell Castle's daughter Alexis.

The closer the Captain got to the Civic Center the more frustrated she became. TAC-Four had been allocated to the rescue work in West Village and right now she had heard nothing had been done to try to rescue Beckett and Castle. The crews couldn't start work until the sensors were deployed and right now they were still in some warehouse in the Bronx. The few that they had showed no danger, but they needed more coverage before they could begin the recovery work in earnest. Then there was the lack of heavy and small equipment to work on the debris. Gates shuddered at the thought of Kate and Rick dying while the city figured out who had the authority to release what.

One of the very bright lights of this mess was how Esposito and Ryan neutralized the van and its contents. She also approved of how they kept the operation low key and had not disturbed the festivities. But now it was her duty to tell them that they may have lost two good friends. She exited her car and walked up the short flight of steps to the loading dock where Esposito, Ryan and other members of the NYPD waited among the various pieces of equipment and the HAZMAT Team.

"All members of the 12th over here please," called the Captain as she walled to an empty spot on the dock. "First of all great job guys. You neutralized the situation and kept the natives clueless."

"Thank you Sir," Said Esposito, "Beckett and Castle?"

"The building in which this stuff was stored in blew up. They were still inside. They stayed behind to remove all of the explosive devices that were near the canisters and the machine used to create the gas. As of yet they haven't started recovery operations. … Do we know what type of gas and how deadly?"

"The Lieutenant said it was a nerve gas and very deadly. You end up suffocating because you can't breathe because you've lost control of your muscles," said Ryan. "Any hope?"

"Some," confirmed the Captain. "Apparently, Castle got his wish. He told Kate that he needed the grandfather of thunderstorms to wash the poison from the air in case one of the canister breaks, and it seems he got it"

The news left the group of Officers from the 12th silent. "There they are," said a familiar voice. "There are the best Captain and best Detective Squad in the city of New York Sir," said the Mayor. All the heads in the group looked in the Mayor's direction. When they recognized the other members of his party everyone stood straighter and waited.

"I understand I have you guys to thank for saving my ass and the lives of the rest of the people at this fund raiser," said retired Admiral Mark Chambers, the current President of the United States.

"Thank you Sir, "said Captain Gates. "Detectives Esposito and Ryan handled the situation here flawlessly."

"Thank you Detectives," said the President as he moved in to shake hands.

"Captain I don't see Castle or Kate."

"They were in the building that exploded Mr. Mayor." After the Captain finished explaining the situation starting with Castle's call during the firefight, Detective Ryan spoke up. "Mr. President, Beckett and Castle are the reason we caught these guys. It was their theories and hard work that allowed us to pull this off."

The President's shifted his gaze from Ryan, to his feet, to his wife, and then to Captain Gates. "Captain if the worst should befall your people I would be honored to accept an invitation to their funeral. Bob if they survive and if they need anything to aid in their recovery the Office of the President of the United States stands ready to assist."

"Yes Sir," croaked an emotional Captain Gates.

At the Site

The on-site supervisor was furious. The building had blown up around five o'clock. It was now almost ten fifteen and the operation was just beginning. To make matters worse he was told that his ONLY priority was the recovery of the nerve gas. He was furious, but also experienced. He knew that working in HAZMAT suits tired and dehydrated his people. If needed he would micromanage their break schedules to keep his people sharp. He had another crew coming on at four and another crew coming in at ten. Despite the emergency, six hours on shift was all he was going to allow.

Now comes the fun part, he thought. The long delay had allowed him and his chief yard dogs to formulate a good plan to handle the situation. Now we get to see how we handle the unexpected.

The hours ground on. At one AM most of the dignitaries left for home. When they left the media followed them. At two he sent Captain Gates home with the promise he would call no matter what.

The supervisor looked out over the debris field. His team had handled everything pretty good. A couple of small scares, but nothing on the incident log. It was three forty, almost halfway through the Hour of the Tiger, he thought. My handover brief starts in five. He had just started it when a radio call from the field interrupted it. "Boss I think I've found the body of female Detective." But it was the second call that turned the field into a beehive of activity. "Boss she's alive, Oh My God they both are."

All of the fatigue and frustration associated with working in the suits vanished. The place where Rick and Kate were buried was soon swarming with people coming to the rescue. Kate's rescuer had seen her hair lying between two pieces of concrete. When he moved one of the pieces fresh air flowed past Kate's face and she gave a short gasp. The low moan from Castle convinced the rescuer that Castle was still with them.

It took the better part of forty minutes to free Kate. They called for a jack to support one of the pieces of concrete. No one had confidence that they could lift it with a piece of equipment and not hurt the Castles. When they tried to move Kate they found that a piece of metal had penetrated her calf and was holding her in place. After sawing the metal from the top they gently lifted her leg to free her from the bottom piece, and the screams they heard tore at their hearts. Eventually Kate was free and on her way to the hospital.

Freeing Castle was even more problematical. The needed another jack to raise the concrete slab, and a saw to cut the slivers of rebar that was holding him in place. On the gurney they stripped Castle of his vests and noted three long gashes where the metal had penetrated the second vest. None doubted that Castle would be dead if he hadn't worn the vest.

**Chapter 17 Recovery**

Captain Gates parked her cruiser and headed up the steps into the 12th. It had already been a long day. The five AM phone call that Beckett and Castle were found alive had seemed like a promising start. While the news about Kate was good, Castle's news was bad and he was losing ground.

This morning had been one of the 'Prayer Meeting' mornings. 'Prayer Meeting Mornings' were mornings where the Command Staff meet for an early at the beginning of the day to go over urgent and critical events. Gates allowed herself a small smile. Once again the performance of her house was the center of the discussion, all of it in a good light. They had given Kudos to Sargent Williamson for how he had handled all of the Officers in the traffic and checkpoint details for the big fundraiser last night. She had been directed to write Commendations for Esposito and Ryan for how they handled the capture of the van. And then there was Beckett and Castle.

She was furious when she saw that the headlines of the morning paper and the tabloids were Kate's last words to Castle. She had to swallow her anger when the Chief announced that he had provided the tape of the call to Esposito to the Press. Sure it made a good story, but these were her people, and she was trying to protect them. The Captain opened the door and walked into her precinct house. She could always tell how the day would go by the vib she got as she walked through the foyer on her way to her office. Today the place seemed like it was holding its breath, with good reason.

Someone had put a small white board with Beckett's and Castle's pictures on an easel next to the Desk Sargent. Gates grabbed the eraser, erased 'Guarded' and wrote 'Fair' beside Kate's name. A nurse whose husband worked in the 15th had just texted her. One thing was certain Beckett and Castle were being well looked after. She left Kate's last words to Castle remain on the board, because in this house people truly knew what they meant, unlike the press who thought they made a great sound bite. Gates stared at the 'Extremely Critical' written next to Castle's picture and wished there was something she could do.

Gates got off the elevator and headed towards her office. In the Bull Pen she saw another Murder Board near Esposito and Ryan. It contained the pictures of three dead men and two picture frame rectangles. The pictures were of the men Kate had killed before the building exploded. Doctors Parrish and Perlmutter had texted her with the news that all of them had been killed with bullets fired from Kate's gun. The Chief had told her at this morning's meeting that he had already signed off on the Commander's Incident Report declaring this a good shoot. She stopped when Esposito and Ryan left their desks and headed in her direction. It was clear what they wanted and she was going to approve their request.

"Captain we thought we would ,…" began Esposito.

"Determine the identities and arrest the other two people who tried to kill Castle and Beckett?...Approved."

"Any word" asked Ryan in a low hopeful voice?

"Kate's condition has been upgraded. Castle is still in serious trouble."

Digesting the news the Detectives walked back to their desks and the Captain continued on to her office. After completing a draft Memo for Record for Sargent Williamson, Captain Gates completed draft Commendations for her Detectives and then dove into her normal paper chase. It was near noon when the Lt. knocked on her door.

"Sir, I'm heading over to the hospital to check on our people."

"Give me a minute and you can ride with me."

"I'll meet you downstairs then."

"Be down in a few."

At Kate's Hospital

One of the things the Captain learned this morning was that Kate and Rick were at two separate hospitals. She was clueless as to why, it just happened. As they approached Kate's room it was clear that she was creating a major fuss.

Kate awoke with the feeling that something was terribly wrong….with Castle. Sitting up,'that's new' she thought as she looked at the bandage around her right calf and the boot on her right foot. Let's see what I'm connected to. No IV, oxygen, and just this monitoring device on my finger. Kate stood up and pressed the 'Call Button'. To her surprise her Doctor entered.

"Take me to my husband," requested Kate.

"He's in serious condition."

"I know he's hurt. That's why I need to be with him."

"He's been well taken care off."

"I have no doubt. Take me to him."

"I can't he's in another hospital."

Kate was stunned for a second, "Then transfer me."

"There's no point."

"Then I'm signing myself out."

"Listen you can't. What do you think you're going do" asked the Doctor as he reached out a hand to steady Kate?

"I'm going to hold my husband's hand, kiss him on his check and tell him I made it. I'm going to tell him I'm all right and I love him and beg him to fight. Beg him to fight to stay with me. "

The Doctor looked around. In addition to the nurses stationed here this conversation had drawn Kate's Captain and her Lt. He looked into Kate's desperate eyes. He knew that Castle was losing the fight and … just maybe…

"Captain please arrange transportation, Lieutenant please commandeer a wheelchair and some blankets. There is enough press out there to make a politicians day and if I see one compromising photo of Kate I shall make your next physical a living hell."

Five minutes, and three phone calls later Kate was being rushed in a wheelchair to the elevator by the LT. "You ride with her, I'll meet you over there. Oh I've arranged for an escort." The LT smiled, one of the things he had learned from her was how to tackle a problem. Gate's approach was to kill it and don't let it get back up. Providing an escort so that Kate could be with Rick just seemed to make sense.

At Castle's Hospital. 

"How is he" asked the Captain? The Lieutenant was standing outside the room and looking at Castle through the glass of the wall.

"His fever is still too high. She did exactly what she said she would do Sir. She grabbed his hand, kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear….They've moved in a good chair for her and brought in a bed. I was hoping…."

"Me too. Look some miracles take time. Let's give Kate time to do hers. Let's eat lunch. I heard that the cafeteria in this place was decent. After that we'll come back up and check."

When they returned Kate was lying on her bed and appeared to be sleeping. The nurses all appeared to be a little more relaxed a little more upbeat. "Castle," asked Gates?

"His fever broke," said the nurse whose name tag read Peg. "Oh, it's still above a hundred but manageable. We don't think his fever was high enough for long enough to do permanent damage. He's got a chance, a good fighting chance to make a full recovery."

"Peg," said Captain Gates. "You have two fighters in there. Individually they don't know the meaning of quit. When they are together,… they are unstoppable. Mark my words. It's only a matter of time before Castle walks out of there with Kate on his arm."

When they arrived back at the 12th, Captain Gates took joy in erasing 'Extremely' from Castle's condition description.

Since arriving here, Kate's day had consisted of napping, snacking, and sitting by Castle's side. Her intuition said Castle was over the hump, but not yet out of the woods.

It was early morning when Kate got out of bed and shuffled to the chair by Castle's side. After wrapping herself up in a blanket, she repeated what had become a ritual for her. She grabbed Castle's hand, kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear. She sat on the arm of the chair and laid her head on his chest. In a few moments she felt Castle squeeze her hand. When she looked up his eyes were open and he was looking at her. "Kate," he croaked.

"Water?" When he nodded Kate fetched her water bottle and put the straw to Castle's lips. When Castle let go of the straw Kate set the water bottle on the stand and gently touched his face. "Babe?"

"The President" he rasped?

"Safe, there all safe. The fundraiser went off without a hitch. The Boys ambushed the van so smoothly they really didn't k now what hit them."

"You?"

"Beat up, but I'll be fine. I've got rib issues, a calf issue, a foot and a breathing issue," said Kate as she touched the nasal cannula. "The good news is nothing is permanent."

"New York?"

"We only lost the one building. There have been no reported deaths from the gas. You must be really tight with Thor. The news said that the rain we had was the most we've had fall in that short of time ever."

"Yeah, he and I go way back. He's invited me to a number of parties in Asgard but I had to decline."

"Really? Why?"

"Well they were couple only affairs, and I never had a woman worthy enough to grace the halls of Asgard, that is until now."

"Flatterer," Kate husked with a smile.

"Me?"

"You had a fever that was kicking your ass. You seem to have licked that. All I've heard is similar sorts of rib and breathing problems. Again none of them permanent."

"Good. I think I'll sleep now." Kate waited and soon Castle was wearing his sleepy boy face. Kate looked up when she heard a sound. It was a nurse she had been behind Castle and hidden behind the forest of machines. Without a word she came around and helped Kate back to bed. She put Kate's water bottle within arm's reach and promised to bring one for Castle. She took the blanket and placed it back on the chair for Kate to use again.

The entry she put on the log that Castle has woken up, spoken lucidly with Kate and had gone back to sleep created quite a stir in the morning.

Kate woke up to the sound of voices and the feeling that her side of the room was …. crowded.

"Good Afternoon Katherine."

"Martha?"

"When Grand called and said Dad was awake and would I like to come with her and visit, I hopped a cab back home," said Alexis.

"Hey Sweetie…. Amy, Gina?"

"Just looking after our investment," said Amy.

"Hi Meredith."

"Martha's letting me stay at the Loft for a couple of days. I'm on my way to London. I got a part in a movie and we start shooting in a week. I came early when I heard… Anyway, this gives me some time to visit with my not so little girl."

"Why are you over here instead of over there?"

"Examination," said Gina. "Like we haven't seen everything anyway."

"Speak for yourself," said Amy.

"Yeah," echoed Alexis.

Kate turned her head and looked toward the curtain that divided the room. Castle's laugh had been loud and distinctive. The smile that came to her face was genuine.

"We packed a couple of bags for you and Richard," said Martha. "Underclothes, toiletries, and escape clothes."

"I also brought your e-reader, with charger, Dads iPad and a pair of Dads special phones," said Alexis.

"Thanks."

"Kate dear," said Meredith. "You ought to see about getting a hair dresser up here. Your hair is …loop sided."

Kate looked at her face in the compact mirror that Amy handed her. "Your right, I didn't even notice it. I guess I'll be wearing a short hair style for a while."

"All right ladies we can switch sides now, "said the Doctor. "I need to take a look at this young lady."

"You had more important things to worry about," whispered Alexis as she hugged Kate prior to moving to the other side of the curtain.

"How you feeling Mrs. Castle?"

"Kate. I'm Kate. Fine I guess the sleep really helped."

"You're looking a lot better too. Breathe for me… Good. Now I need to see how your leg is coming along."

Kate watched him deftly cut away the bandage. "This is healing nicely. We can leave it uncovered for a while. Before bed I'll have the nurse re-bandage it."

"Doctor what is the boot for," asked Kate as she wriggled her toes.

"You got a couple of broken bones. Probably from the falling cement. You've also got some stretched tendons. They had a devil of a time getting you and Castle out safely."

"Castle" Kate whispered?

"Good news. This is the last night you two will be spending here. We have a nice suite on the third floor picked out for you guys. The view is awful, the cable selections, marginal and the food barely adequate. But the good news for you is that you are probably only going to have to spend one night there. I think I can release you the day after tomorrow.'

"Can I take Castle home with me Doc? I've kind of grown attached to him."

"I hadn't noticed," he replied with a smile. "I'm afraid not. He's at least two days behind you, but no more than three. Anyway your Work Release Form we read that you need ten days convalescent leave followed by…."

"Ten days?"

"Yes. I figured that would give you and Castle at least a week to figure out that all of your piece parts still work."

"Doctor," laughed Kate with her cheeks turning a little pink. "Did Castle put you up to this?"

"No I thought of this all by myself… Detective my wife and I were at the fundraiser. If you and …"

"Just doing our jobs," said Kate as she patted the Doctor on his hand. "Well mine anyway," she laughed. "I still haven't figured out what Castle does. "

"And I'm just doing my job dear Lady. I want to be sure my patients are healthy before they rejoin the world."

"What's the rest of my Work Release Form say?"

"At least four weeks of desk duty. That's when the walking cast comes off, and a return to field status when you pass your physical fitness test."

"That's fair," Kate agreed.

"And I do mean walking cast. Look if you don't get some exercise than the wound in your calf will form some scar tissue that will take you forever to work out. So grab Castle and go for a walk."

"That's not going to be a problem. We walk as it is."

"You decent" he asked? "I don't want a wardrobe malfunction when I pull the curtain."

Kate checked herself. "Good to go Doc."

When Castle heard the curtain being drawn he moved his head until he could see Kate. She locked eyes with him and nodded. The smile on his face warmed her down to her toes.

Martha and Alexis were the only ones still around when the Officers from the 12th started showing up. Castle was feeling uncomfortable, with all the well-wishers, that is until Hastings showed up with flowers.

"Hastings you know my no flowers rule."

"These aren't for you they're for Kate. She has no such silly rule and since you guys are sharing the room you're going to have to get over it."

Castle looked at the flowers, Hastings and Kate, who promptly stuck her tongue out at him. Laughing Castle lay back in his bed and threw his hand up "I surrender," he pronounced.

"See I told you he was a smart man," beamed Kate. For the rest of the evening Castle was closer to his normal jovial self.

At the White House

The First Family had eaten supper alone, again. The First Lady had insisted on keeping regular dinner hours for her children and made the promise stick. When the President returned from whatever she would sit with him and drink some tea as he ate, but to her family came first.

Tonight was no different, supper had ended a half-hour ago and her husband was still missing in action. The First Lady was watching the evening news. It always amused her to see what the networks were saying versus what the situation really was. She had met the her husband while she was working as an Intelligence Analyst for the Navy and no one had tried to kick her out of the room when she attended the weekly intelligence briefings. "For our last story we have some good news coming out of New York City. Two days ago Mr. and Mrs. Castle were trapped in a building blown up by terrorists after the two of them had discovered the location of the terrorist's nerve gas making operation. This afternoon we have confirmed reports that Mr. Castle has finally woken up and has been taken off of the Critical List. The hospital later confirmed that Mrs. Castle could be released in as soon as two days and Mr. Castle within four. … And that concludes our broadcast…"

"That settles it," said the First Lady as she turned off the TV and headed out of the living room. "Jen," she said knocking on her daughter's bedroom door, "I'm heading down to the kitchen to make some fudge. Want to come along."

It took Jenny no time at all to join her Mother in the hallway. As they were about to exit the Residence, the President opened the door and walked in. "Where are you off to," he asked after he received a kiss from his wife.

"The Kitchen. Your food is in its normal place," she added when she saw her husband's head look toward the dining room. "Agent Harris I will need transport and probably a full detail tomorrow morning."

"Yes ma'am."

"Where you going" asked the President?

"New York. I'm going to make some fudge and take it to the Castles. The news said that Mr. Castle woke up this morning and is off of the critical list."

For a long moment the President considered accompanying his wife, and then decided against. His wife was acting like a neighbor. She was born and raised on a farm in Ohio, and that's how neighbors act. They share food in times of pain and joy. She was taking the fudge up to say thank you. If he went up it would become a political statement. He was going to make a political statement about the Castles, but it would occur in the Rose Garden in the spring. "Tom"

"We'll make sure she gets there and back unharmed Mr. President."

As he watched his wife and daughter head out the door and down to the kitchen the President paused before heading toward the dining room. Changing direction he headed into his office in the residence. I can't make fudge, but I can do something else to say thank you.

No cook likes to have his kitchen invaded, even if it is by the First Lady and her daughter. That applied to USMC Chief Warrant Officer Samuel Ellington, the designated cook for the Admiral as well. But when he heard what was been prepared and for whom pots, pans and ingredients miraculously appeared. While the first batch was cooling the Mr. Ellington told the First Lady and her daughter about how Castle had helped a Marine who was part of the Presidential detail and how Beckett came to Castle's rescue.

"They're like the Batman and Robin," said Jenny.

"More like a pair of Castles checkmating crime on the chessboard that is New York City," replied the Chief.

"Mr. Ellington you sound like a poet."

"I am, and my preferred media is food."

They made five batches. By consensus the fourth batch tasted the best, and that one was wrapped up and set aside for the Castles. One batch went to Secret Service Control and monitoring point in the White House. Where, it was later learned, it was consumed in eight minutes. A batch was sent to the checkpoint manned by the Marines. That batch lasted a day. The Gunny Sargent, who received the box, opened it and saw three layers. He made a command decision and decried that each shift could only consume one layer. He was named a hero by the Marines who manned the following shifts and a traitor by his shift-mates.

The President noted his wife carrying three boxes when she entered his office. "Are any of those for me?"

"The wrapped box is for the Castles. One of the other boxes is for the guests to the Oval Office, and you are not to eat all of it."

"I guess I could let Tom have a piece," said the President with a hint of glee. He glanced up and saw his wife's face. She was not pleased. "Okay, okay I get it. The fudge is for my guests. I can have a piece with them can't I?"

"A small piece dear."

"Who's the last box for."

"My house apes…And you my dear are my biggest and most loved house ape."

"Can I have a piece?"

"We can share a piece. We are going to need some water. All of the batches came out very rich."

"I'll get the water. Could you read that" asked the President pointing to a note on the corner of the desk?

The First Lady picked up the note and suppressed a gasp. It was hand written and very very legible.

Mrs. Chambers was impressed. Calling her husband's hand writing atrocious would be kind. She resisted the temptation to check the waste can to see how many times her husband had tried to write this.

The notepaper was here husbands standard. It had 'From the Desk of the President' in the top left hand corner and the oval office as a watermark.

Presidential Directive: 047 19 September 2015

Mr. and Mrs. Castle you are hereby ordered to heal as fast as medically possible and resume your duties as soon as you're physically able to do so. The world is a dangerous place. It has been made more so by the absence of two courageous and valiant defenders such as yourselves. Twice now you have risen to the occasion and risked your lives to save mine and my family's lives. The debt I owe you is huge and if there is anything that I could do for you, you have but to ask. Just remember that not even the President of the United States can cancel an IRS audit.

Sincerely and with upmost admiration, Mark Alexander Chambers President of the United States

The First Lady looked up as her husband reentered his office carrying a bottle of water and two glasses. He didn't say anything but his eyes asked for her opinion. She gently laid the note down on the table and gently clasped her husband's arm as she left. "Pour for me," she said. "I'll be right back." When she returned, it was with sealing wax and a signet ring. Sitting at his desk, she carefully dripped the molten wax on the envelope and applied the signet ring that had belonged to her distant ancestor. When the wax had cooled she handed the envelope sealed with crest of her family back to her husband. He promptly turned the envelope over and printed

To Mr. and Mrs. Castle

She accepted the envelope back and tucked it the Castle fudge box wrapping. She opened the House Ape box of fudge, selected a large piece and handed it to her husband. She kissed him on the cheek and said, "All yours Dear. You've earned it." Picking up the boxes of fudge the First Lady left the office.

Next Day at the Hospital 

The move to the new room occurred early the next morning. After they were settled they hooked Kate up to a pulse oximeter, a device that measured the percentage of oxygen saturation of the blood and took her off of the oxygen. When, after half an hour, the reading was still ninety-eight percent everyone in the room was all smiles.

"The next thing we need to do," said the Doctor "is get you fitted with a walking boot."

"I'd like to shower first," said Kate.

"Absolutely," said one of the nurses. "A fresh gown is in the drawer and towels are in the bathroom. Let's cut away the bandage on your leg first and undo your rib wraps. Depending on how you feel you might ask us to rewrap you before you leave tomorrow. They're there to provide a little extra support."

For Kate the shower was heaven. When she clomped back into the room she was shivering and wondered how she was going to dry her right foot.

"Put this on and sit on the bed," said Castle as he handed Kate a sweat shirt. He bent down and carefully unstrapped Kate's boot and gently dried her feet and toes. After drying the boot he was carefully sliding it back on Kate's foot when a familiar voice boomed from the door.

"What's going on here?"

"My personal Price Charming is helping me out your Honor."

"I can see that," laughed the Mayor. "Kate you look like you're about ready to go home."

"Tomorrow Sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you it's Bob."

"In my House is one thing, but in public."

The mayor shrugged his acceptance. "I would have come sooner."

"…Except that you heard I might be dying and you didn't want the last memory to be me lying in a hospital bed," said Castle as he stood to offer his hand to his friend.

"You too."

"Yeah"

"Noted and appreciated. For a dead man you're looking pretty chipper."

"It's the company I keep," said Castle with a sly smile.

"I came to say thanks and no thanks. Look I know you're going to say you were just doing your job but accept the thanks anyway."

"Why the no thanks?"

"Apparently my Disaster Preparedness Coordinator can't. We're catching all kinds of flack, and deservedly so, for our handling of the poison gas scare after your building blew up and our effort to rescue you."

"Bad?"

"Moderate," agreed the Mayor. "Sad part is, we earned it. The great news is no one died, especially two of my best friends, and we experienced no significant property damage. We are going to use the event to over haul some of the ways we do business."

"Fess up, and move out to correct," offered Castle.

"That's what we're going to do Rick. Look if there's anything that you need."

"We know who to call. Thanks for dropping by Bob," said Castle.

One of the attributes of the room and condition change was the fact they could accept visitors. Last night had been the immediate family and the Blue fraternity. Today it was other visors and the Mayor was just the first. The most interesting and unexpected was the supervisor who rescued them. He brought pictures of their survival hole and small pieces of concrete and slivers of rebar. They were fascinated as he told the tale of their rescue. He accepted their thanks and called it even because of the work they had done to eliminate the threat of a major nerve gas leak.

The engineer was the most unexpected, that is until the First Lady arrived. Castle had taken Kate's lead and had showered and was sitting up in his bed working on his iPad, with Kate curled up under a blanket with her e-reader in the chair beside him when the door opened and a Secret Service Agent and the First Lady entered.

"You accepting visitors" she asked?

"Ah, yes ma'am."

"Good and right now I'm not a ma'am. I'm Amanda Chambers, Mandy." They watched the agent search the room as the First Lady continued. "I brought you some fudge to say thanks and a note from my husband." Kate accepted the fudge and handed the note to Castle who was going to ask about the seal when the Agent said "Ma'am" as he lifted Kate's bent weapon out of the drawer. Uncharacteristically the hospital had sent both Kate's and Rick's personal effects to the room.

"It got caught between two pieces of concrete and prevented the one on top from crushing us," Kate said sweetly. When the Agent pulled out the badge with the huge gouge Kate remarked, "That kept me from being impaled by the rebar. Castle wasn't so lucky." When Castle had gotten out of the shower Kate had seen the deep scraps on his chest and went pale.

"There history now," he reminded her. But that didn't stop Kate from feeling shaky.

"…and those are the pictures of our Hobbit hole," said Castle with a laugh.

"You mind" asked Mandy?

"No," said Kate

After the pictures had been returned to the drawer Castle asked "Is there significance to the seal?"

And before long Kate's collector of stories had collected some of the family history of one Amanda 'Starr' Chambers.

"Agent you wouldn't have a knife on you would you? I'm going to slit the envelope and not break the seal."

The switchblade he produced would have been the envy of every thug in New York City. Castle freed the blade and admired the weapon. "Special Made?"

"Yes" and in a few minutes Castle had the name of the vendor and another story for his collection. After he had opened the envelope he handed the knife to Kate.

"Mandy please tell me you will join us by taking a piece of the fudge."

"I couldn't"

"It's been the tradition in my family for generations that when a guest provides food the host shares the food with the guest."

"We have the same tradition," said Mandy. "But please only a piece of a piece. I made five batches last night and..."

"You had to sample them all. Got it," smiled Kate. "Agent and I'm not going to take no for an answer. I know you have to be careful about food and drink, but if you can't trust something made by the First Lady then…"

"Please," said the Agent. When he had come on duty today he heard about the fudge and now he was going to taste for himself what the fuss was all about. After the first bite he determined the fuss was understated.

Castle opened the envelope, read the note and passed it to Kate.

"Well" asked Mandy?

"I would like to know when the aliens …"

"Castle!" said Kate forcefully.

"….first landed."

"I've always wanted to spend the night in the White House," said Kate, "but as the first female President."

Mandy laughed, "The night we can do. The Presidency you're going to have to earn."

"Since we're going to the White House," said Castle reluctantly. "I was wondering if I could take a behind the scenes tour? I mean I've taken the public tour several times and I would like to see what's been curtain number two."

"For your books?"

"For me mostly. But I won't deny that some of it might make it into one of my books, filtered of course."

Mandy looked at the Agent who nodded.

"That could be arranged."

"And if you could throw in a briefing about the aliens…what" said Castle in response to Kate's glare?

"Jim a card please." Mandy took the offered card, got a pen out of her purse and wrote a number on the back of the card. "This number rings through the White House switchboard and directly to me. If the switchboard picks up tell them you want to speak to Mandy Starr. The combination of name and number will insure that it is routed to me. And do plan on spending the weekend. It is a big house and the alien briefing is fascinating," teased the First Lady.

"Don't encourage him," said Kate laughing "He's going to be insufferable for the rest of the day."

"Somehow Kate I think you will manage. Jim, it's time I turned in a pumpkin again."

The big man in the too small scrubs exited the third floor stairwell and almost came to a complete halt. What are they doing here? Maybe this is the opportunity I've been waiting for to even the score. He moved down the corridor and into a family waiting area.

Looks like a full detail, and augmented by cops. Wrong disguise today. A person in scrubs isn't going to be idle. Patience. If he's visiting them he's got to walk by here and I will get my shot. Perhaps he will pass by before they get too suspicious. He picked up a magazine sat down in one of the overstuffed chairs and tried to become invisible. …Time to go I've been noticed. If they come over and ask questions they will find the gun. I can't let that happen. The Castles get to live another day. I'll kill them tomorrow. When the Agent scanned the family section again, the big man in the ill-fitting scrubs had vanished.

As noon approached the visitors tapered off, but the flowers kept coming. Castle loved flowers. He just thought that killing them at the peak of their beauty should be a criminal offence, but there was no discounting the expression of joy on Kate's face when they arrived.

Kate took the opportunity to call Captain Gates and layout the probable restrictions on her Work Release Form.

"Five-to-seven weeks of desk duty? Kate I've got an idea. Public Relations has been killing my phone asking when you would be able to speak to them. I gather they want to schedule some personal appearances for you on TV and radio as well as have you available for the school and job fair circuit. How about I detail you to them for a short tour, 8 weeks. This way I don't lose the best Homicide Detective in the city. I can get the Chief of De's to backdate the assignment by a week. It has several advantages for you. You remain a Detective until you can pass your physical fitness test. It will count as a cross training tour. You should have time to hit the gym so that you can qualify for field duty as so as your cast comes off. It will give them what they want and it will give you time to study for the Sargent's exam that will be announced next week. In eight weeks I get the best Homicide Detective in the city returned to me with her mandatory cross training assignment completed and she may be a Sergeant as well. This way you won't be bored cross referencing ammunition utilization by precinct or some other make work thing."

"Do it Captain."

"One other thing. The Chief has granted you thirty days of bankable convalescent leave."

"Bankable?"

"Yes, ideas."

"I think there is a week in early November in which I will suffer a relapse."

"Book tour?"

"Florida."

"Tan, don't burn"

Endgame

Kate's release from the hospital occurred early in the morning. Her first stop was the hair dressers. She didn't have an appointment but she was sure she could get in because it was early. When the ladies saw who it was and the damage that had been done to Kate's hair they grabbed the style books and began discussing repairs in earnest. The ones with appointments were envious. It wasn't often a hero walked in the door.

When they were done Kate regarded her reflection in the mirror. The style was flattering and would be easy to maintain as her hair grew out. She smiled to herself when she remembered how short her hair was when she first met Castle. It was like Yogi Berra said, 'Déjà vu all over again.'

Her next stop was the corner market for some fresh milk, juice, and bandages. After putting away the groceries, Kate clumped to the bedroom stripped and made a beeline for the shower. After bandaging up her wound and putting on her under garments Kate stopped as she was about to enter her closet. She finally appreciated her fashion dilemma. She wanted to wear long pants to hide the wound, but that would mean ripping the seams out on her clothes. She did not want to do that. The alternative would be to wear a skirt or a dress. True they would see the wound. What about hose? Kate thought for a moment and decided that hose on one leg and not the other would be a fashion faux pas. "Ok world for the next five to six weeks you get to see Kate Castles' real legs, enjoy."

She quickly dressed in a heavy light blue blouse and a dark gray skirt. Doing a quick inventory she concluded that she would need at least two new skirts and blouses to cover her new assignment. Grabbing a bag she threw in a heavy zip-up hoddie, some extra underwear, a pair of heavy sweat pants and Castle's favorite moccasins. After checking her Dad's watch she knew she would have to hurry to meet Castle before the hospital tried to serve lunch. 'Nutritious yes but…' Her next stop was Mike's Deli where she ordered two club sandwiches 'the Castle way,' that is with triple bacon. She left the store with the sandwiches, chips, two small bottles of tea for lunch, and a large bottle to drink when they snacked on the delicious fudge the First Lady had made.

The people at the front desk were not surprised to see Kate walk through the front door. She easily snagged a wheel chair and headed for the elevators. Arriving at the nurse's station Kate asked them to bring a walk around bottle to Castle's room.

"It's a nice day, a little brisk but nice. I brought lunch and thought we would eat it out on the fifth floor deck. He needs some sun on his face and wind in his air."

"Agreed," said the head nurse, "Just don't overdo it." She held up her hand as Kate started to protest. "I know you are his wife, but your love my blind you."

Kate paused for a second, "It's around sixty outside and light winds, would an hour…"

The head nurse nodded, "but no more than two. Sally?"

"I'll get them a bottle Cora."

Kate opened the door and walked into the all too familiar room. "Get dressed bucko I'm taking you to lunch on the deck.

"Is that…"

"Mikes yes"

"Clubs?"  
"Our way. Here's, a hoddie, sweat pants and your moccasins."

"What about the oxygen?"

"A walk around bottle…"

"Has arrived," added nurse Sally with a laugh. "I've set the flow to low, which is more than you need and you have another cannula so you can leave that one here. The bottle should last six hours. You should be inside by then. If you feel lightheaded or start having shortness of breath get on oxygen immediately. There is a fine line between upright and happy and prone and out of it."

"Got it," they both said at once.

Kate looked at Castle like he was crazy as he stood behind the wheel chair holding it for her. "You are the one with the broken foot."

Kate smiled and touched her husband's patient bracelet. "Patient." And pointed at herself "Not a Patient." …"Patient."

"Okay, Okay," said Castle as he climbed into the chair.

"You just don't want to be seen being pushed around by a girl."

"There is that, but at least the girl is good looking."

It was a happy Castle and even happier Kate that went wheeling out of the room and toward the elevators. They just passed the stairs when a familiar face got off of the elevator. "Hey Captain Woods," said Castle," Join us for lunch?"

They saw her nod, start to speak stop and then they saw her arm come up to point. "Kate behind you! Look out!"

Captain Mary Woods felt a little guilty when she made travel plans to come to New York City. It was true she had legitimate business here. It was just as true the business could have been handled by phone and a messenger service, but if she did that she could would not be able to visit the Castle's, and after the building explosion.

She also had legitimate business with Richard Castle. She had his check for services rendered to the USMC on behalf of one of its members. She also had a card with two, one dollar coins typed to it. On the back of the card was a heartfelt note from her thanking Mr. Castle for saving her fiancé. She hoped that Castle would sign the check and let her have it. She planned to frame the check and display it in her study as a reminder that the world still has good people on it. One thing was certain, the Castles were good people.

"Captain Woods for Mr. Castle, I have some official business with him," said the Captain as she handed the receptionist her GAO card. She saw the security guard get out of his chair and look at her. What a waste of money, she thought. If I wanted to I could vault this counter disable you and take your weapon before you could scream. I'm just a Lawyer. You don't want to experience what my brother could do to you. '

"Room 347 Captain," said the receptionist as she handed the Captain back her ID card.

"Thanks Nancy," said the Captain as she headed toward the elevators. She had her head down as she exited the elevator. She was sure Castle would agree, but this was a matter of the heart and she wanted to be sure. As she started to rehearse her opening argument she heard a familiar voice cry out.

"Hey Captain Woods, join us for lunch?"

She looked up to see the smiling faces of the Castles. She had to admit they looked great, considering the reports she had heard. She was about to accept when the door to the stairwell opened behind Kate and a man with ill-fitting scrubs emerged. The telltale bulge under the white lab coat was a dead give-away. She saw his hand reach for the weapon. "Kate behind you! Look out!"

Kate spun and tried a two handed strike at the man's face. She was still weak from the ordeal and the walking cast did not provide a strong balance point to conduct the attack. The man seemed to catch Kate in midair and effortlessly flunk her against the wall. Stunned, she slid to floor.

"Now you die for interfering with my plans," said the man as continued to draw his weapon and aim it at Kate's head.

Castle spun out of his chair, grabbed the walk around bottle and swung it at the hand holding the gun. The blow hit hard enough to disarm the man, but because of his weakened state, not hard enough to do real damage.

The man bellowed and backhanded Castle into the other wall. Captain Woods had been moving ever since Kate had reacted to her warning. She took the last three steps at a sprint and jump kicked over the wheel chair. The blow hit, but not solidly enough. The man seemed to be aware of her and at the last second shifted slightly out of the way. Still the blow was good enough to knock him back several feet.

Captain Woods straightened. She was a daughter of a family that had a tradition of Military Service back to the French and Indian Wars. Ever since she was four she had been studying martial arts. From his words she concluded that he was the real mastermind behind the attempted gas attack, and he had attacked her friends. Summing her will she attacked. She knew she was good and fast, but none of her strikes penetrated his defenses. After a furious thirty seconds she paused. 'He's the best I've ever seen. Surely they heard the gunshot. All I need to do is buy time.'

"You're pretty good. If you could train with me I could make you one of the elite in the world. Too bad. Today you die."

Captain Woods went full defensive, and even then the man's strikes and kicks connected with power. She gave ground to buy time for help to arrive. When she glanced down for a second he blazed pass her defenses and had her in a chokehold. She was pinned against the wall with her feet off of the ground. He was too close she couldn't kick or use her knees. Her arms were trapped she couldn't use her hands or elbows. The choke hold prevented her from trying a head butt. As she looked into his eyes she knew she had failed. She knew she was going to die and the Castles right after her.

Amazingly she heard three sounds. In the close confines of the corridor they sounded like howitzer blasts. The pressure eased. She could breath. She was able to turn her head and follow her attackers gaze. There on the floor was Castle. He was trying to lift his head and aim the gun. He failed and the gun slipped from his hand. The pressure on her arms lessened. She broke free and as she was preparing to strike, Captain Woods realized that her attacker was already dead.

When he fell she fell to one knee with him. Captain Woods looked to her let and was mesmerized by Kate coming off of the wall and literally crawling towards Castle. "Babe" she pleaded as her hand touched his shoulder?

**Afterword **

**Marine Corps Birthday Party**

"Do you know what he said," said Captain Woods as she was recounting the corridor fight story to her brother and Corporal Knowles at the Marine Corps Birthday party. "He turned his head, looked up at Kate and said 'Hon we need a vacation.' When Kate started laughing I couldn't help myself. It hurt to laugh but I couldn't stop."

"How are they doing?"

"Fully recovered, he's on a book tour and Kate passed her physical and is back on Homicide still with Captain Gates."

"Did they ID the guy?"

"I don't know. I went back to visit them a week after Castle was release. When I asked they said that an hour after the MD posted the prints for identification 'an agency' came to collect the body. I don't think they ever got an answer to the fingerprint query."

"Speaking of vacations when are you two going to tie the knot? " The Major held up his hand to forestall the anticipated outbreak of questions. "In three weeks I will no longer be your Commanding Officer, and since I have already completed the Personnel Evaluation Forms the only I can affect your career is if you do something sensational great or stupid."

"Where are you PCSing to Bob," asked Mary? "And why haven't you told me?"

"The War College," said Bob with a smile. "My orders were just confirmed last week."

"Congrats Bro, how did you find out about us?"

"I called Dad with the good news. When I confirmed that I had completed all of the Personnel Evaluations, he told me about you two."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, He told me that if I gave you any lip about it he would tell Mom."

"And she would kick your ass."

"Worse," said Amy with a laugh, Robert's obviously pregnant wife. "She instructed me to make his life absolutely miserable."

The Major reached down and gently touched his wife's shoulder. "And she would too. Now you two. You've done your duty, split, scram, go, do what lovers are supposed to."

Both the Captain and the Corporal in parade group perfect fashion and precision took a step back, came to attention, saluted the Major, and executed an about face and left the party.

**The Daydream **

Kate set down at her desk and sipped her fresh cup of coffee. She had just finished her morning standup. Her Team had caught what appeared to be an impossible case and the Boys were off in search of the theory on how the murder was accomplished. Kate looked at Castle's chair and smiled. He had just left on a long California based book tour and she would miss him. But they had just returned from a Florida based book tour. He had called it the 'Sun, Sand, and Sex' tour. He was partly right. She had enjoyed the sun when Castle was working, they enjoyed sex when he wasn't and they left the sand for the tourists. Kate hoped the timing was right on the Florida tour, because if it was, one of the presents she would be giving Castle this Christmas was a pair of baby shoes.

She shook her head. It was hard to believe that two months ago Castle had been the target of an assassin and they had almost been buried alive. Since then she had taken a tour with Public Relations, passed her Physical Fitness Test with her highest score ever and regained her field status. The Public Relations tour was interesting. They had coached her so that she could do the TV and Radio spots they asked for. Along the way she found she liked it and with her beauty and grace she became a natural. One of the things she admired about Castle was easy manner while he was on camera. With the coaching she had gotten and the practice, Kate now thought that Mrs. Castle could now join her husband on stage. Thank you for that she thought. She also learned when she could give an interview and how far she could go. To a Lead Detective this could really help with her dealings with the Press.

Kate reached down and touched her fairly new badge. Rumor had it she would be getting a new one soon. One with the word Sargent on it. She hadn't told Castle that she had taken the test. During the orals, which she thought she aced, the interviewers revealed that Kate had the highest score of any of the people taking the test. The day after the orals Captain Gates had hinted about increased responsibility. The results would be announced on December 1 and would become effective on January 1. It could be a fantastic Christmas.

Kate looked around and sighed. She and Castle were both happy and healthy. He was safely on his way on a long book tour. All of his books were selling at a phenomenal rate and she was getting increased recognition inside the NYPD and a caught a challenging case. Their first year or so of marriage had been great.

The ringing of the phone brought Kate back to earth. The caller id read 'UNAVAILABLE'. "Detective Becket"

"Detective Beckett please hold for Dr. Willis, the Democratic Party Chairman for the State of New York. "


End file.
